With Wings That Fly
by Kurmoi
Summary: The DOA 2 tournament. The lives of four people. From a person's road to self discovery, a kunoichi willing to sacrifice everything for one person, to unlocking a ninja's cold heart.
1. I'm a kunoichi

She wasn't surprised to see the people everywhere, crowding around. She was surprised, however, to feel a hand on her shoulder. She spun around abruptly, facing the person. She recognized who it was immediately.

"Ayane! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed, recoiling in shock, glaring at her half sister maliciously. "Trying to stir up more trouble?" She flicked her orange ponytail over her shoulder in disdain. "You do that well enough without trying. Don't tell me you came here to fight,"

The lavender-haired girl glared back in response to her statement, staring her in the eyes, they were the same height, so it wasn't that difficult. "To get my revenge, _sis. _This is for all those times when you always told me that I wouldn't reach the same level of skill as you, Kasumi," Her brown eyes flashed dangerously as she said the word _Kasumi, spitting out the word as though it burnt her tongue to say it. Kasumi raised her eyebrows. _

"Don't tell me that you're stupid enough to start a fight with all these witnesses. You always had no sense…" Kasumi said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you stupid?" Ayane hissed. "I'm entering the tournament as well. So I'll see you there. But, here's a souvenir of our meeting," With that, she lashed out at Kasumi, hitting her in the stomach, but the blow was inconspicuous, so the nearby stranger wouldn't get suspicious. The young kunoichi doubled over, trying to get her breath back, and Ayane used the advantage to kick her, bringing her down to her knees. Suddenly, there was a whirl of leaves and a person appeared next to them. Both girls looked up in shock, and stared up into the emerald eyes of a handsome young ninja. He looked at them both before sighing softly.

"A fight before the battle has even begun. I'm sure you'll have enough time to continue this when the tournament starts," he said, his tone quiet, polite, yet… cold at the same time.

Kasumi was about to say something along the lines of 'Mind your own business' when she realized just who she was looking at. 

"Hayabusa? What are you doing here?" Kasumi asked, astonished. She was expecting some sort of acknowledgement, but she got none. Just a look which was icy, but… seemed deeper then she could see. She had known him since she was a child! Why was there no recognition? It hadn't been this way the last time she had seen him, in the previous tournament; he had spoken to her almost as like old times. Nothing had changed… had it?

Ayane was equally surprised. She had also known Hayabusa for a long time, admittedly not as long as her sister, or more specifically half sister, but still quite a few years. He was different from what she had remembered; he had matured, not just mentally, obviously, Ayane thought, smiling to herself. The smile quickly faded. What was going on? 

"I have my reasons," he said coolly. "Please avoid the fighting until you meet in the arena. I can guarantee that you will have more then enough opportunities to fight then," His icy green eyes suddenly flashed dangerously, making Kasumi feel nervous in spite of herself.

"…Okay…" Kasumi said uncertainly. Ayane made a face but said nothing, turning away from both Hayabusa and Kasumi. She felt extremely uncomfortable around the young ninja, though she didn't know why. It wasn't as though he was exactly nice or anything, there was no reason to feel so perturbed. He was so cold towards her, he had never been… overly friendly to her. 

"Until then," Hayabusa said, disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Both girls started as one, looking at each other in confusion until Ayane broke the almost peacefulness, glaring at her sister again.

"While he's here, I won't lay a hand on you. I'm not that stupid, seeing as obviously he has a _thing _for you…" she said, smirking as a slight flush went over Kasumi's cheeks. She had known for a while that although her thoughts were with Hayate as a caring sister would feel, yet she had a slight crush on the enigmatic ninja. That was all well and good except for the fact that Hayabusa already had a girlfriend, according to Kasumi herself, anyway. 

"Don't be ridiculous," Kasumi said hotly, trying to squash her feelings. "I'm a kunoichi. Love means nothing to me,"

With that, she vanished in a breeze of sakura blossoms, leaving Ayane to her own thoughts.


	2. Strike one

Hayabusa was watching Ayane from a corner of the room, cloaked in shadow. He sighed. He knew full well what would happen if he hadn't broken them up, admittedly it wasn't his business to, except he had promised Hayate that he would protect his sister…

Why had he done that? Did he need a goal so badly that he took up the first opportunity he could find? He didn't think so. Simply, that he knew Hayate needed him to. He wanted to help his friend, was that such a crime? But Ayane… she would make things difficult, he knew. Ayane and Kasumi had never got on well, from what he knew. He himself hadn't really got on well with them either, simply not speaking to either of them overly much. That was just the way he was.

He made a slight face. Why were the tasks that Hayate set him sounded so simplistic, yet were… exactly the opposite? He didn't really want to protect Kasumi; he personally thought that she didn't need him. But he had promised Hayate… and he never went back on his word.

His thoughts were interrupted as soft footsteps were audible. He immediately looked up, glancing around the room inconspicuously to see who they belonged to. It was Ayane, casually walking towards him. Against his better judgment, he checked that his sword was holstered. She could be dangerous when she wanted to be. She walked over, and looked up at him.

"You've just spoilt my whole chance for revenge, I hope you realize," she said, malice slicing through the air in her words. Hayabusa simply regarded her, never losing his cool.

"There must be a bigger reason then that as to why you came here. You could simply eliminate Kasumi without coming here and doing it like this. Why do it so personally?" Hayabusa asked, raising an eyebrow at Ayane, who looked uncomfortable under his scrutinizing glare.

"I want to do it personally, but that isn't the only reason I came. That reason is none of your business," she retorted. He had never been nice to her, why return the favor? The reason was that she wanted Kasumi out of the spotlight. If she won the tournament, she would get the attention she craved, never again doomed to live in 'Perfect Kasumi's' shadow. How she longed to be her own person, rather then Kasumi's sister. 

"As you wish," The young ninja said instead, looking down at her. She was frustrated; although she also thought that Hayabusa could make a person over six feet feel as though they were being looked down on. He just had that air about him. How she wanted to slap his face… or even better, scar his face…

Reaching swiftly for a knife which she kept hidden on her person, she drew it and was about to throw it. She aimed quickly and threw… yet he simply put out a hand, catching the knife in mid-flight by the handle. Ayane was shocked. She knew that she wasn't slow, far from it, in fact. So how had he managed to stop her? He had vastly improved from the last time she saw him… 

"Why did you do that?" he asked softly, emerald eyes growing somewhat softer as they looked at her. "I wasn't planning on hurting you,"

Now she was annoyed. What could she say? _You looking down on me was annoying me so I decided to stab you? _She opted for the other option, the one where she could be excused.

"It looked like you were about to attack me. You can't blame a girl for being cautious," she snapped. "Especially around someone as infamous as you," she added nastily. 

"Infamous?" he asked coolly, handing her back the knife handle first. "That is a nice knife. Depending on your aim, you could eliminate someone with a single blow," Ayane could have sworn that his green eyes suddenly twinkled, and Ayane was sure that she saw the slightest beginnings of a smile on his lips, but she couldn't tell for sure, because if it ever appeared, it was gone almost immediately. 

"You're acting like the thought excited you," she said coldly, flicking her hair over her shoulder carelessly. "Oh well, I suppose being alone for so long can do that to people…"

Anger flashed through his eyes, although his face remained perfectly emotionless. "Don't assume you know what you don't," he said; his voice as icy as his eyes. Ayane shrugged. 

"Hope you can restrain yourself from pulling out a gun and shooting up the crowd," she said sweetly before walking off. She didn't turn around. If she had, she would have seen him watching her go with almost a sad expression in those emerald eyes. It seemed that she had hit closer to home then she had realized.  


	3. Strike two

Hayabusa fan… who, me??? I was hoping nobody would notice… but I am absolutely obsessed! *Sheepish grin* My friends say that he's dyed my brain, but… what can you do, really?

Thank you so much for the reviews! I got onto the internet, about to update, and I was like, "Whoa! I got reviews!" So I'm extremely happy. Should I reveal the coupling now?

…Nah. Maybe later, but I guess it is a bit obvious… 

Kasumi was back in her hotel room now; she had washed her hair and was now lying on top of her bed, confused. Why had Hayabusa interfered? _He could have just let Ayane _hit me… yet he stepped in so that she didn't. Yet he wouldn't talk to me. How come?__

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Kasumi immediately pulled on a robe and answered it, hoping in her heart that it was him. If it wasn't, she had a small katana hidden under the robe. She would be fine. She pulled open the door, and nearly smiled. It was him.

He was dressed in a simple black shirt and black baggy pants, with his hair tied up, the sun shining on it. Kasumi smiled weakly and moved aside to let him in. He shook his head. When he was greeted by Kasumi's puzzled expression, he spoke.

"Kasumi, your brother insisted that I protect you. So I have sworn to that with my life, yet nothing more," He was gazing at her incessantly, which made her feel uncomfortable. Not exactly the way most men stared at her, or more specifically, her chest, simply at her. 

"What on earth do you mean?" Kasumi asked, confused. What else was there to give if not your life? Hayabusa sighed and turned away, yet his soft voice was still clear.

"I think you have misunderstood me. I will protect you, yet do nothing else. I personally felt that Hayate was mistaken when he said that I needed to do such a thing in the first place except he insisted. So I will do what he said, nothing more," 

Kasumi frowned despite herself. Nothing like putting yourself out. As much as she would have liked to and tried, she just couldn't understand Ryu Hayabusa's motives. It seemed that there was only one person who did. 

"Fine," she said coldly. "Suit yourself. I wouldn't want to strain you or anything. Nice of you to drop by. Thanks for the concern. I suppose that if Hayate hadn't mentioned this protecting thing to you, and you saw me dying on the street, you'd just kick my body and continue walking?"

Something like pain flickered through his eyes for a moment and he spoke again. His voice was cold yet sad at the same time, if that combination was indeed possible. 

"I already said this to your sister. Don't assume you understand what you don't. I'm sorry to bother you," With that, he vanished in a swirl of leaves. Kasumi shook her head. She still had no idea why she was slightly… attracted… to him, having a personality like a bag of frozen peas, yet twice as cold, but probably held the same level of conversation. Probably that he was handsome. _Yeah, that must be it. I suppose I only go for looks, seeing as he certainly wouldn't win any Mister Personality awards._

Her thoughts drifted for a while, before settling back on her brother. She was so concerned about him, not that long ago he had been crippled in a fight. Yet he had mysteriously vanished and left Ryu those mystifying instructions about protecting her. What had made him do it? His friendship with Hayate? Something else?

She decided to stop worrying about it. After all, cold or not, nobody could hurt her now while he was protecting her. He was strong, to put it mildly. She was safe in her quest to find her brother. Those facts made her feel a lot better. She curled back up on the bed, and shut her eyes until sleep slowly overtook her.   


	4. Solitary Super Ninja

He was confused, that was the best way to put it. Was he really that cold to people, that they automatically categorized him as heartless and solitary? The latter was true, he knew. He would have preferred being by himself to in a crowd any day, socializing was not on his list of favorite things. But heartless, that wasn't true. He had a heart… it was just buried under all those feelings of anger, hatred and knowledge of bloodshed, death and revenge. It was there somewhere.

He sighed. Kasumi and Ayane… they both had to make the job harder, didn't they? He was a ninja. Emotions were simply something to bypass, bury. You couldn't let emotions get in the way of the task at hand. They were weak, weren't they? 

He thought of the comments they had said, both had made more of an impact then he would have liked, which might have proved something…

_Oh well, I suppose being alone for so long can do that to people…_

_I suppose that if Hayate hadn't mentioned this protecting thing to you, and you saw me dying on the street, you'd just kick my body and continue walking?_

He was beginning to feel sad now. He hadn't felt like this since… she had died. It wasn't anybody's fault, it was an accident… or that was what he had been told. He still missed her bitterly, leaving her one day, and just the day after… no! 

_Stop thinking that. You don't want to think that. _

He tried to pull himself together. What was going on? It was just two stupid shinobi, one who was too blindly loyal to her brother to see the fact that running away as she had done was basically suicide, and the other who was too blindly loyal to her own feelings and hatred. He didn't understand either of them. 

_Hayate, I need you here. You would know what to do. Or Irene, you would know as well. Why don't I know? Always so dependant… I need other people to answer my questions. That is utterly pathetic, for certain._

He angrily raised his fist and brought it smashing down. The glass which was underneath his hand shattered with the impact of the blow. Shards of glass imbedded into his hand except he didn't care, simply pulling them out with the other hand. Doing that had lessened the amount of thoughts and questions running through his mind, thoughts which haunted him and questions which he couldn't answer. Perhaps the solitary life was beginning to take its toll?

Yet… that girl. He shook his head. Ayane. He knew her, but couldn't remember a lot about her. She seemed to know what she was doing, unlike Kasumi, who was still innocent in many ways; she must have been battle hardened. He remembered her icy russet colored eyes staring at him as he spoke to her earlier, flashing with anger. Why couldn't he remember her? He knew that he had known her, but… 

When she had thrown the knife at him… tremendous speed. He had looked at her, concerned, wondering why she had done it. Claiming that she had thought that he was going to attack her was a poor excuse, not only was he basically unarmed, she would have seen or sensed some movement from him, of which there had been none, or none threatening at least.

There must have been something seriously wrong with him, he decided sadly as he walked across the small hotel room to his bed. Sitting down on it, he frowned suddenly.

_Yeah, maybe. Me and the rest of the world._


	5. Mr Grumpy

Kasumi sighed and rolled over, still half asleep. Finally she decided to summon the extra energy and wake herself up fully. She opened the window to be greeted by rain trickling down the window. She didn't mind, it was still pretty. She grabbed her clothes and got dressed quickly, before heading downstairs. There were a few people there, two Chinese people who she had no idea of who they were… wait… weren't they that guy and girl from the previous tournament? Kasumi frowned as she tried to remember their names. Leifang and Jann-Lee, that was it. There were also those three Americans talking in the corner. She really had no urge to remember their names, seeming crass and vulgar from what she had seen of them. Then there was Hayabusa, sitting in the corner by himself, apparently tuning out from the conversations around him. He was looking around at everybody with an emotionless, yet calculating glance. Almost as if he was trying to work out a battle plan before he had even begun to fight them. _There was a good reason why he was known as the Super Ninja around the world_, Kasumi thought. _But that doesn't mean he has to be so cold to everybody else. It's almost as though he feels that he's superior to everybody else. _He suddenly noticed her, and his gaze turned from calculating to cold. She glared back, before stalking over to where he was sitting angrily.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare?" Kasumi asked hotly. "Or don't you have any manners along with personality?" So, who cared if he was hot? He was acting like a… prick, to put it bluntly. Looks didn't matter as much as a nice guy. Not that she cared, but… she had always been slightly jealous that she was always left out when they were all younger, being the girl, and the 'girly girl' when Ayane came along. 

Did she remember him when he was younger? She remembered a small, shy boy with beautiful brown and golden hair, and angelic features which would make the nicest smile, but that was something she had actually never seen. In fact, she doubted if the grumpy bum had ever smiled. Who cares? She wasn't here to worry about him; she was here for... other reasons.

"Don't make my job any harder, Kasumi," His voice was quiet and dangerous sounding. She decided to be annoying and not take the hint, her chocolate eyes almost teasing him in their expression.

"Your job is not my concern," she said, tossing her hair. "I am here for one reason, and one reason only, so what you do is not my problem,"

"Hayate," he said softly. She was shocked, to put it mildly. How had he known? She immediately lost the confidence she was flaunting moments before. Had Hayate told him? She certainly hadn't, unless he had guessed… but it wasn't _that obvious of what she was doing, was it?_

"It's obvious to everybody that you miss him," Hayabusa said almost gently. "Even to me," he added as an afterthought, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.

_So not only is he the best ninja in the world, saved the darn world a few times, he's also psychic. Thanks, Hayate. Why didn't you just get __a __God himself to guard me next time? She thought to herself, sighing. __You could have just stayed, after all, with the injuries you suffered…_

"That's what you think," she said angrily. Thinking about Hayate always made her angry, down to the fact that she didn't try and stop him from leaving. It was just until he had gone until she had realized how much she missed him and wanted him back, which was why she was here now. Perhaps he had come to the tournament as he always said he would…

"I know," he said simply. The two words filled Kasumi with anger and sadness at the same time. It wasn't that clear that she wanted Hayate back home. The only way he could have known was by simply seeing. Maybe he saw more then she gave him credit for. "I miss him too," he added in a soft, rich voice. He used it well; she had to give him that.

"The only reason you miss him…" Kasumi ranted, pausing halfway through the sentence to take a breath, "…is because you don't want to be stuck with me any longer. Am I right? I bet I am. You're just thinking, 'Oh, I wish Hayate was here so I wouldn't have to look after his little sister,' right? Well, guess what? I wish he was here too. Because if he was, I wouldn't be stuck with you looking after me! And another thing, I can look after myself. I don't need you watching over me. I don't need anybody," 

The rant wore her out, sapped her energy for a comeback. Luckily, Hayabusa didn't look as though he was planning on making one. The normally emotionless expression he wore was now an expression of mild confusion. Kasumi frowned and decided to waste more energy.

"Don't look so confused. You know what I'm talking about. For heavens sake, you don't have to look after me, so you might as well get out of my life," 

Harsh, not exactly the way she had intended it, most unlike what she usually acted like. She was just so furious with him! It was maddening! It wasn't that she hated him really, just… what was it exactly? She had no idea. It was something about him that was annoying her. Yet, at the same time, it really hurt her to be saying these things to him. Damn it! Why was love, or the closest thing that she was feeling to it, so confusing?

"I'm doing this for Hayate. He wanted me to make sure that you were alright, and to keep you safe. I'm not doing this just to spite you. If you don't like it, blame your brother, not me," The handsome ninja retorted. He really was handsome, and she had a sudden urge to run her hands through his hair. She resisted the temptation, embarrassed that she had thought of such a thing.

"Since when are you so loyal to Hayate?" Kasumi shot back. "Can't you think for yourself?"

"Of course I can," Hayabusa replied hesitantly. What else could he say? "Was the only reason for you coming over here so that you could bother me?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.

"You glared at me. I came over because your rudeness made me notice," she said. He sighed under his breath. "I don't need this,"

"Well, I don't need-" Kasumi started hotly before realizing that Hayabusa had disappeared.


	6. The Shooted

Just for the record, I agree that Ryu and Irene are married… but… after reading this, I guess you'll see what happens. And I don't dislike Irene, in fact in my opinion she rates fairly high on the girl character list, but for this story it was necessary to be this way. Sorry. :(  

_Couldn't she just leave me alone? _Hayabusa thought angrily, pacing the floor of his hotel room. _Must she keep irritating me? It's bad enough that I have to look after her, let alone have her bothering me and criticizing my every action in the process…_

_Maybe I'm just being too picky. Maybe it's something I'm doing that's bothering her._

_But for crying out loud, looking at her? What's so bad about that?_

_She said I glared at her, I don't think I did__ but__ anyway, she'll get over it. It's not as though looks could kill, after all, if they could, both her and Ayane would have killed me ten times over by now… at least._

_Why are girls so picky? Everything you say has to turn into an argument of some sort. It's probably why I don't speak to them much. Not since… Irene…_

Hayabusa immediately switched the thought stream off. Deep down, he could barely admit to even himself that it hurt too much to think about her, let alone to somebody else. He hadn't mentioned to anybody that she had died, because he had no idea where Hayate was, and he was the only one that knew… _of her, at least. After her death, he had just slipped into a slight period of depression, simply shown by being cold towards everyone else, something which had somehow made its way into his personality. He had no desire to be around people anymore, not after she was gone. It just made life seem totally different without her._

It still did, even though she had been dead for… a few months. Not something like a year, at least, but maybe the wound would have healed over if it was a year ago… all he knew was that he missed her every day, every minute of every day. She was his first love, and had loved her more then he could even possibly say.

_I'm sorry that I have to go, Irene…_

_That's okay. I'll see you in a few days, don't worry. Why look so down?_

_It's just… I don't want to leave you… what if something happens?_

_Don't worry; I'm more then capable of looking after myself, aren't I? You're so concerned; do you think I'll stub my toe on the stove or something? I'll be fine, I promise. You silly boy, Ryu!_

_Will you be alright? _

_Of course. You have more chance of being hurt then I do. You should be worrying about yourself more then me. You be careful, Ryu. I love you heaps. I don't want to see you hurt._

_…I love you too, Irene…_

_If only I had trusted my instincts and stayed back with her, but I didn't, because she promised that she would be alright, but if I had… she might still be alive now…_

_Coming home… happy that I would see her again…_

_Opening the door, walking into the bedroom…_

_Nearly stepping on a hand… what? A hand… no…!_

_Looking around in horror at the bits of decapitated body everywhere… who could have done this?_

_Thoughts immediately switching to the worst, it could have been anybody after me going through her…_

_Irene!_

_Gently kneeling on the bloodstained carpet and touching her face, her beautiful eyes wide open with horror, her mouth forming the scream she never got to utter…_

_No!_

Hayabusa sat heavily down on a chair, eyes shut. He could have saved her, perhaps, if he had been there, but he wasn't, and now Irene was dead. There were no second chances in life. Maybe that was why some people committed suicide. They had blown their first chance, and saw no other alternative. _Irene… I need you here!_

He remembered the first time he had cried since he was a child, and that was years ago on one particular day, when he thought that she were dead. She certainly seemed dead. It was only by pure chance that she hadn't died that day, although he had given up hope when he had first taken in the situation.

_The sword going through her back cleanly… her collapsing into my arms… I still remember that, as clear as if it was yesterday._

_I felt so helpless, seeing her lying there, thinking that there was nothing I could do…_

_Well, there wouldn't have been. She was pretty much dead. The Dragon Sword was only a lucky chance, or at least I had one in the fact that it cured her, and she was okay… but she was pretty much dead before._

_As she was when I walked into the bedroom, that night… except she was extremely dead. The Dragon Sword couldn't do a thing about a decapitated body.__ The bullets literally blew her apart._

The young ninja sank into the chair, eyes still closed, memories haunting him and biting at him, bringing up painful, buried emotions and hurting him deeply. If he had been slightly more alert, he might have heard the knock on the door.

Did anyone notice the chapter title I 'borrowed'? It seemed to fit, so I decided to use it. Reviews are always welcome, and thank-you again to those kind enough to do so :) 


	7. An unexpected apology

Lol, more Ayane… not sure whether this is in character or not, but I'll work on it. Hope you enjoy! 

_Just tell him you're sorry and then go. It's that easy. And you should do it, considering that you were a bit of a bitch to him… well, a bit more then a bit… but then again, you do that anyway. What's so different about him?__ Nothing! What's gotten into you, girl??_

The shinobi stared at the door. Did she really want to go ahead with this? After all, throwing a knife at him was taking it a bit far. And she, Ayane, _never apologized. It was ruining her reputation. But… something inside her told her to say sorry, even though being a pain was in her list of favorite things to do for most people, with him it was different. _

Why, though? He was just another ninja. She had met many of them over her lifetime, so what was the big deal? He seemed… unique though. Why she had no idea and was pondering now.

Swallowing her pride, she knocked on the door. There was no response. But if he wasn't in the hotel room, where else would he be? She knocked again. Still no answer. Maybe she had the wrong room? But she had found out the room number and everything. This was the right room, she knew it. Perhaps he was asleep? But then again, did he ever sleep? That was a question, which although sounded stupid, wasn't really. Some ninjas were always alert; she herself sometimes went for days without sleep to keep on her guard when she had to. But they had to tire sometime… she shook her head and focused her attention back on the door.

Testing the door handle softly, it was unlocked. _Some security_, she thought to herself. Perhaps he was waiting with a sword in hand, ready to chop off her head when she opened the door? That didn't sound overly promising. But she readied her small throwing knife and opened the door anyway, ready for battle. When a sword didn't come into her line of vision, she relaxed.

Peering around, she noticed several things. The first thing was that the hotel rooms actually differed inside. She was personally surprised. The second thing was that he did sleep, and was doing so now. Or was he?

He was sitting in a chair, eyes shut, but he didn't seem asleep. In fact, he seemed to be shivering. That struck Ayane as odd. It wasn't cold, in fact far from it. Maybe he had a fever. Not that she really cared; after all she was only here for one reason. Thinking that he would notice her, she simply stood there. Minutes passed and nothing. Losing her patience slightly, she went over to him and shoved him lightly in the arm. Still nothing. _This wasn't right._

Ayane frowned, before shaking him hard enough to make the rest of the furniture in the room rattle from the effect. He opened his eyes blearily and looked at her, and she started.

The normally emotionless green eyes that were staring at her now were filled with pain, deep pure pain. It wasn't as though her shaking had exactly hurt, but now Ayane was beginning to feel as though she had interrupted him while he was in the middle of something like… she didn't know off the top of her head, but something intimate which shouldn't be interrupted, and one would feel embarrassed for walking into. That was it.

"Err, Hayabusa?" she asked questioningly. "I just wanted to come and say sorry for snapping at you like that yesterday, I was in a bad mood because of Kasumi, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you, and not that I actually _mind if you're crappy about it, but... yeah, so…" she said, slightly uncomfortable. He was just staring at her! It was beginning to unnerve her. It wasn't as though it was brown eyes boring into her; green eyes just seemed to be so much more intense. "Can you please stop staring at me?" she added unsubtly. _

"Sorry," he said, sighing softly and dropping his eyes. He seemed so different, even his normally confident attitude was gone, replaced by something more timid, like a child who was in trouble or something. "Don't worry about yesterday, it was alright. It doesn't matter," 

"Are you okay?" she asked. She was beginning to feel slightly concerned in spite of herself. Note the word _slightly._

"I'm fine," he said. He didn't look fine, though, and that was confirmed when he stood up and had to grab at the armrests of the chair to stop from falling. "Would you like tea or something, as you're here?" he asked, steadying himself before walking across to the kitchen.

Polite, she had to give him that. "If you're offering," she said instead, seating herself at the kitchen bench. 


	8. Why does she fight

Lol, Nakahito, that is so true… except I have pretty much finished them. Just been really slack on posting them. *Grin* I'm really happy because I'm so close to finishing this story, just trying to sum it up… but thank-you ever so much for all the reviews! I'm experimenting with pairings to see which ones I like (as you may have noticed from my stories where Ryu is paired up with everybody except the kitchen sink) and if you don't like this pairing, hopefully I'll soon write a story which has the pairing that you prefer :)

What on earth had possessed him to not try and get her out of the room as soon as possible? It wasn't manners, although pushing her out of the room would be extremely rude, he knew. It's just that he hadn't actually sat down with someone and had tea for a long time. Since, yes… her. Why was this happening, now of all times? He didn't need this!

"No!" he exclaimed out aloud. Ayane turned, and looked slightly concerned. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't seem overly well," she said. He shook his head, grabbing the teapot, before adding the tea and the boiling water. 

"I'm fine," he replied for the second time, pouring the tea and handing her a cup. She nodded gratefully, taking the cup. He poured some for himself, and took a careful sip. "As fine as I'll ever be, I suppose," He sighed. Irene's death had never affected him like this, was it going to do this from now on? He felt as though he was sinking into a hole of depression, and he didn't like it.

"I miss Hayate, you know," Ayane said out of the blue, so he had to look up and make sure that she had actually said that, it wasn't just his mind playing tricks on him. "Even though I would never tell him that… I don't even know why I'm telling _you, _it's just…" she broke off, slightly embarrassed. Hayabusa didn't really know either.

"As do I," he said instead, opting for a minimal number of words. "Your sister is making it difficult, though," Her words were still bothering him.

"_Half sister," Ayane corrected; malice evident in her tone. "That wretch will never be my proper sister, and it's a damn good thing as well," She took a sip from her cup of tea, putting down the cup with a significant amount of force, causing tea to spill on the bench. "Oh, sorry about that," she said, wiping the tea off the bench with her hand. "It's just that she makes me so angry, down to the mere mention of her. It's always me living in her shadow. I can't stand it!"_

Hayabusa suddenly discerned why she was seeking revenge against Kasumi. Because she was sick of her getting all the attention. Ayane looked slightly embarrassed at his realization.

"Well, it's true. I want to be my own person, instead of Kasumi's sister. It drives me crazy,"

"It would," Hayabusa replied softly. She looked at him piercingly, almost as if trying to read what expression he was wearing, but the question she asked was far from what he was expecting.

"What's your first name?" she asked. "Call me stupid, but I've forgotten after all these years,"

"Ryu," he said shortly, looking at her bemusedly. Why did she need to know that? "What's with the change of heart, anyway?" he asked, changing the subject. "Wasn't it just yesterday that you were throwing knives at me, yet now you apologize and are having tea with me, telling me more then you have in the years I've known you? What's brought on the sudden change?"

"I…" she started. "I felt bad about what I had said considering it isn't your fault that Kasumi's an annoying little twit and I get annoyed with her and her stupid statements, etcetera,"

"You're an assassin, though," His voice was still remaining soft, almost probing in its tone. Ayane found it… interesting to some point, which was odd. "Isn't it in the repertoire of an assassin to be ruthless and emotionless?"

"You've killed before, probably more then I have," she shot back. "And besides, no emotion would be boring. Does it really matter why I came to see you? I have my reasons, okay? I've tried telling you them. Do you need a step by step reason?" she asked. Sarcasm was her best department, in her opinion. 

"I suppose not," Nothing else was said on the matter and they drank the rest of their tea in silence. After a while, Ayane broke it.

"I should be going now, but I might see you once the tournament starts,"

"Okay," he said, looking into her eyes with his own, which were still pain-torn, and made her feel… concerned, she supposed, distantly, of course. "Until then," 


	9. Hayate

Ayane stepped out of his room, more confused then anything. She still didn't really know what had come over to her, _apologizing _to _Hayabusa! _Maybe she wasn't well… or revenge for Kasumi was driving her slightly insane. She had to admit that when they were children, she didn't know much about him. He was Hayate-sama's best friend, and when she came along, Hayate had simply welcomed her into the fold, which she had readily accepted and appreciated. She had immediately taken a disliking to Kasumi because of the 'cuteness' factor on which she thrived upon, yet Hayabusa… she didn't remember feeling a sudden liking or disliking to him the first time she met him, just a neutral feeling. Hayate was always frank and didn't mind talking about himself, the weather, or anything in order to make conversation. Kasumi… _she sucked up to everybody so hard that I'm surprised she wasn't a vacuum cleaner in a past life, _Ayane thought bitterly. Always 'May I help you?' and very innocent. In her opinion, innocent equaled naïve, and naïve equaled stupid. And Hayabusa, now that was almost funny in his severe lack of people skills. She remembered when all four of them had been sitting and talking, when Kasumi and Hayate's father had summoned them briefly. She had sat, watching Hayabusa, who was just as comfortable with silence, if not more so then when everybody had been talking.

_"Aren't you going to say something to me?" she had demanded after about ten minutes of silence. _

_"What would you like me to say?" he had asked coolly. _She had fallen silent until Hayate and Kasumi had come back. Hayate immediately started chatting about what Shiden had wanted, while Kasumi stared up at her brother with a slimy affection. Hayabusa had simply stared out of the window, seemingly uninterested with the small talk. __

She really missed Hayate. He was usually kind to her, although he had a darker, harsher, more competitive streak which anybody who knew him would realize. He was also very adherent to the rules, although didn't mind having fun and making mischief once in a while. The only flaw that she had noticed was that he never had seemed attracted to any girls. When they were teenagers, she had flirted with him almost unashamedly, yet he didn't even seem to notice, treating it as normal behavior. She worried about him sometimes, she had to say. 

There was a small noise behind her. She immediately spun, before realizing that it was probably the sound of somebody inside their hotel rooms. She shook her head. She had to get out of assassin and kunoichi mode, and into 'get revenge on stupid slut Kasumi' mode. Her blood boiled at the mere mention of her name. She was not going to lose to her, no doubt about it. She would rather lose to _anybody _else then her. 

Suddenly, she had thought of a distant reason why she had apologized to Hayabusa, much like Kasumi would do, which was rather embarrassing, actually. Because he was Hayate's friend, right? And Hayate had accepted her as a child, the least she could do was try and thank him for it, even by going through his friend. Hayate really was a nice guy, although she did have to question his choice of friends. She did _not _understand Ryu Hayabusa's motives no matter how hard she tried, or anything about him. Really, she knew nothing about him. Other then the fact that he wasn't as good at hiding emotions as everybody had thought that he was. He understood why she didn't like Kasumi. And she knew that he drank tea. It was a start.

_Hayate… _she thought as she strode briskly down the corridor to her room, glancing at the clock on the way past. Eleven at night. Only the rest of today and the day after before the tournament would begin. She smiled to herself, gritting her teeth in determination. Basically one more day. Kasumi had better start training, hard.

I thought that Ayane would probably be a bit OOC apologizing to Ryu (I mean, HELLO world) but for the sake of the storyline I had to make it so. Hopefully this justifies her decision a little although totally is nigh-on impossible (although I could see her apologizing to Hayate… is that just me? Because this is pretty much the first time I've written a story about Ayane, I find the bitch persona hard to write as sometimes but she is a great character) Anyway, enough waffle!  


	10. Memoirs of an Angel

Just listening to Ninja Gaiden music… the soundtrack actually is pretty good! Anyway, sorry for the slow update, but hopefully two chapters will make you forgive me :)

That was certainly… strange. Ayane had spoken to him more just then, more then he could recall her ever doing before. He would never have guessed that she would have come to apologize for her actions, regardless of the driving force behind them. She just hadn't struck him as the apologetic type, quite the opposite, in fact. He took up her empty cup and his own, before washing them in the sink and sitting back down in the chair he had been in before she had woken up from his… daydream.

More like a nightmare, he hadn't been aware of anything until she had shaken him, she could have been trying for minutes and he wouldn't have noticed. Irene's death was haunting him more then ever. This was bad, and the worst time as well. He knew that if these thoughts kept on bothering him like this, it would reflect on his physical health, at least that was had happened for the previous few months, had kept him lying low until this tournament, at any rate. There was nothing he could do to avoid his fate now, which was bring down the dreaded Tengu or die trying, and protect Hayate's sister as well. He couldn't let the loss dominate him, he knew that Ayane had seen that something was worrying him, which meant that his shields had slipped, and that was not a good thing. Emotions were things which had to be bypassed, avoided at all costs. At least that was what he thought. Irene had made him think otherwise, but now that she was gone… he just couldn't push those emotions away! Why?

_Because… I still love her, _he thought, sighing heavily. It wasn't that he didn't _want _to love her… just that he knew that emotions made you weak. They had set him back for months.

He stood up, and walked to his room. He really didn't know what to do about it. There was nothing he could do about it. He sighed again. Fatigue was washing over him like a cool stream. He opened his top drawer and picked up something from it, holding it up to the light. It was a fairly simple but exquisite ring, with sapphires around the silver band and a diamond framed in the middle. The ring he had never got to give her before she… passed away. Was murdered. Whatever the hell you wanted to call it. Either way, she was here no longer. He gently placed the ring back into the drawer, before pulling out something else from behind the various array of items he had in there. A picture, in a simple wooden frame. A beaming, pretty young lady was standing in the front, her blonde hair cut to her shoulders. She had her hand on a man's shoulder and she was looking down caringly at him. 

The man had about the same length hair as the lady, except it was an auburn color as opposed to the sparkling golden, and it was tied back. He was smiling slightly, almost wistfully, although his gaze tended to be somewhere other then the camera. 

He stared at himself about three years ago in the photo. _Sad, that this is the closest that I ever got to smiling about something, he mused as he scrutinized the photo. __That was after she gave me a huge lecture about photos and the necessity to smile in them, or something equally so. _

He lay down on his bed, shutting his eyes. _Thinking about Irene, worrying about Hayate, isn't there anything else to my life? He wondered tiredly before drifting off into a somewhat restless slumber. _


	11. A Piece of the Puzzle

_This is like luxury; it's so nice here… _Kasumi thought to herself as she scrubbed her hair in the shower, steam curling around each and every surface. _Shame it won't last forever, but, nothing ever does, right? She bent down to pick up a shampoo bottle, before pouring its contents into her hands and massaging it gently into her scalp. After the argument with Hayabusa, she had gone to bed, then the next morning she had muttered obscenities under her breath for a few minutes before deciding to calm her nerves with a nice hot shower. Just even thinking about him made her anger swell in her chest, however._

"Damn it all to hell!" she exclaimed out aloud, surprising herself. "Why did Hayate have to trust my protection to such a… prick? Hayate, when I see you next I'm going to bite your head off!"

She remembered when they were children. Ayane was the tomboyish, bossy one, always hanging around with the boys in the Hajin-Mon clan rather then the Tenjin-Mon, excluding Hayate, of course. Hayate was the joking one, as he still was, well, at least the last time she saw him… but serious when he had to be. Ryu on the other hand was cool… cold and he always seemed to act under stealth even when he didn't have to. Cool and calculating was the expression he always wore. It seemed to reek of 'ninja-esque'. 

So why did her thoughts always seem to trail back to him? It was almost as if she had him on the brain, or something of the equivalent. She had no time nor patience for feelings of love. The Mugen-Tenshin clan was already becoming violent towards their ex-shinobi, sending the odd assassin her way, but nothing major. Hopefully when she reunited with Hayate, the assassins could be stopped and they could live happily. 

Even though Hayate made her so angry sometimes, she missed him terribly. It was like a puzzle with one missing piece. _And what use is a puzzle when it is not complete? _Kasumi asked herself sadly. _If a person saw an incomplete puzzle and couldn't find the piece, they would just throw it away. Forget it ever existed._

When they had been children, Hayate had sometimes been cruel to her, but on the whole was a loving and caring brother. She couldn't let the years of childhood slip away just because she couldn't find him. She would search for him non-stop! She was determined to avenge what had been done to him. She still remembered the pained expression on his face when Hayabusa had found her and they came to help him, one leg twisted in a horribly unnatural position, one eye half closed, blood and bruises all over his body. 

_'An assassin…' his voice was soft as she knelt beside him. 'An assassin tried to knock me off…'_

_'Why would anybody want to do that?' she had asked in horror, carefully sponging her brother's cheek with a damp rag. He flinched slightly as the wound was cleaned. Their father shook his head at her question. 'It does not concern you, Kasumi,'_

_'How does it not?' she had retorted. 'He is my brother and I care for him!'_

_'Go and get a healer,' he had demanded, shooing her out of the room as he and Hayabusa helped Hayate to the nearest bed…_

She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower onto a fluffy white bathmat, grabbing a towel off the bench and drying herself before wrapping her hair up in it and getting dressed into some simple shorts and a shirt. She braided her still wet hair before leaving her room and heading for the main area. 

_Hayate… _she thought as she walked slowly down the stairs. _I miss you; I love you because you're my brother! Why did you leave? Then you wouldn't have become paralyzed, Project Epsilon wouldn't have affected you like this, you could have peace, or as much as a ninja can have, and be happy. Why did you have to mess it up for yourself, and me, too? Did you never want me to be happy?_

_Hayabusa… even though I may not always like you, I feel for you. Even down to the fact of having to deal with me. I guess I feel guilty about how much of a horror I have been to you, but you haven't always been the best to me… why are you so hard to understand? _

About halfway down the stairs, still engrossed in thought, she ran into somebody. _One guess as to whom, _Kasumi thought bitterly as she stared up into the emerald eyes of the person she least wanted to see. He pretended that he hadn't seen her, which was rather hard to do considering the fact that she had run into him, but he pulled it off admirably, like everything else he did. For some reason, it hurt. She only had the distant feeling as to she knowing why, but she felt a slight pain in her chest as she went the rest of the way down to the main area.  

Ayane was standing near the landing, basically ignoring all the chattering and social activity around her. _As usual. _Kasumi thought. _No guys are downstairs yet. _She walked up behind her, before punching her so quickly and harshly in the centre of the back that the lavender-haired kunoichi let out a little gasp, spinning around quickly to face Kasumi.

"A little payback for yesterday. See you tomorrow," Kasumi said, smirking prettily. Ayane glared before swinging a punch, wild with anger and emotions driving it. Kasumi dodged it easily before disappearing in a swirl of sakura blossoms, leaving a furious Ayane standing behind.

Look out for some Ein next chapter (mmm, six-pack… anyway, I'll shut up now) He catches some 'interesting gossip', you could say…


	12. Zählen Sie Ein

He had been keeping to himself for the period of 'socializing' they had been given before the tournament for the sole reason that he didn't feel the urge to socialize with any of them. His head was aching less frequently now, the pain sometimes subsiding to a slow throb rather then the agonizing pulsing it had been for the last few days. What had led him to this tournament in the first place? He remembered nothing before waking up in dense scrubland, and having to stagger out of it, injuries sustained from who-knows-what hindering his progress. That had been a few months ago now. On his aimless journey around, he had heard of a fighting tournament. The Dead or Alive tournament, it had been called. Only the second one to have ever been held. So he went for it, training in karate by a school in Germany kind enough to teach him. One of the girls there had particularly caught his eye. Hitomi was her name. She reminded him of somebody, but who that person was he would never know. She was the one who had named him too, made him an individual again, rather then a nameless nomad. 

He had been sparring with a girl a few years his senior by the looks of her, named Hotsuko. He had landed a striking blow to her left shoulder. The brown eyes had flashed with icy determination, the teeth gritting. He had seen the determination in her, the utter fortitude to win. So he had grabbed her, before delivering a sharp blow to her head. She fell to her knees, before slumping unconscious to the ground. The match was over, he had won. He felt the excitement of the victory flow through him, consuming him, so all that was left was a fierce happiness.

"I did it," he said. "I won. I mastered karate,"

"You did," Hitomi had said, smiling at him. "You're number one. Ein! Nice work, my friend,"

It was his name now, Ein. He had left the school not a week later, to fight in the tournament. Hitomi had desperately wanted to go, except her father was stubbornly against the idea. They had said their farewells and he had departed. Now he was here. Sitting in the corner of the lounge-room, hidden behind a bookcase. Nobody could see him unless they looked directly behind the shelves, but he could see everything from his position, including the people going up and down the stairs. He was sizing up his opponents for the upcoming battle.

A pretty young girl walked down the stairs, catching his eye. She had long, orange hair, naturally streaked with auburn and blonde by the looks of it, and was tied up with a blue ribbon. She was wearing a simple shirt and shorts. She looked around subtly before stepping down the final step, almost as though she was wary of somebody in the room that she was about to go into. 

He stared at her with increasing frustration and annoyance. He was sure he had seen her before! She seemed familiar to him, as though he should know her. But the harder he tried thinking about her and what seemed to be familiarity, the more his head began to throb and the more confused he became. He was just about to move from his hiding place and go to get some painkillers when the girl suddenly spun around. Somebody had appeared in front of her in a rush of swirling leaves. At first he thought that it was a female, but when the figure had turned around slightly he realized just how mistaken he was. _Well, the hair did make me wonder, he thought to himself. The male's hair was long, just as long if not longer then the young girl's, but a rich auburn color, with tinges of gold. Suddenly, the male turned around right, looking right where Ein was sitting. Not wanting to be seen by them, he moved quietly further back into the shadow. The man turned away, and the girl glanced in his general direction._

"Hayabusa-san?" the girl asked. Her words were polite, but he could hear the undertone of… almost bitterness coming from the girl's voice. "What is it?"

"I thought I heard something…" his voice trailed off uncertainly. "It was almost as though someone was there,"

"Forget about it," the girl said briskly. "Probably just your ninja senses leading you astray. Would it be the first time? Probably not," There was no denying the bitterness then. The silence that followed was thick enough to walk on, the man staring at the girl from his higher stature, the girl staring defiantly back.

Ein fidgeted in his chair. Was this a conversation that he was supposed to be hearing? Both these people seemed familiar to him, yet he didn't know why. He knew he hadn't seen them in Germany, and he was sure that he hadn't seen them before…

"Hayate asked me to protect you and I will do the best job I can of doing so, nothing else. Your stubbornness to find your brother lets me do little else,"

_Hayate… why did that name ring a bell? Who was this Hayate person?_ _This girl's sister, obviously. He decided to sit back for a good eavesdrop, to see if he could find out more._

"What else do you expect me to do, Hayabusa?" All politeness had dropped from the girl's tone now, she was whispering angrily to avoid attracting too much attention. "You're his best friend. You could have at least done something, rather then let him go. Look where that got him. Paralyzed, and now who-knows-where. He could be dead! And all because you didn't stop him,"

"I tried," the man the girl addressed as Hayabusa retorted. "Your brother would listen to little I said. The last thing he told me was to protect you at any cost,"

"I wonder why he doesn't listen to you," the girl snapped. "Maybe because you're full of-"

Whatever obscenity the girl was about to come out with was interrupted by the arrival of another girl. Aside from the obvious hair difference, considering this girl had a lavender-colored bob barely shoulder length, they looked surprisingly similar. The purple-haired girl glared at the other girl, before turning to the man.

"Did Hayate mention what costs you could go to protecting her? Would killing her protect her from my wrath when our clan tries to assassinate the runaway kunoichi shaming the Mugen-Tenshin Tenjin-Mon line?"

The man turned to her, his expression cool. "Please do not try and stir the waters, Ayane-san, otherwise you will see how far I will go to keep my word to my best friend,"

"Woof, woof," the orange-haired girl mocked bitterly. "The dog following its master,"

"The 'woof, woof' coming from you is a bit hypocritical, Kasumi, only in a different sense," the purple-haired girl snapped. Both the man and the orange-haired girl turned to her as though they hadn't expected her to say anything along those lines. 

"Standing up for him now, are you?" the girl Kasumi asked. "Or just trying to get back at me? Mark my words, Ayane, it won't happen. I will find Hayate and avenge him, and then I will rejoin my clan. And you will be doomed to follow in my footsteps again, as you have all your life,"

"The clan wouldn't take you back," Ayane hissed. "The Mugen-Tenshin clan would never accept a runaway back into their fold. You've just signed your own death warrant,"

She pushed past Kasumi and stormed up the stairs, purple hair bouncing as she walked. Kasumi shot a glare at her departing back, before turning to the man she had addressed as Hayabusa. She looked different, almost softer, and gentler. This made her look even more familiar to him. But why was that?

"I will avenge Hayate. Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't take out my problems on you," Kasumi's voice had softened, and risen back to normal volume. Hayabusa looked slightly surprised, and Ein had to wonder how long this argument had been going on for between the two. He leant back in his chair, still listening for all he was worth. "I know Hayate leaving wasn't your fault, and Ayane was right, I have been horrible to you. I don't mind you protecting me, especially if Hayate wanted you to, but please don't try and stand in my way. This is something I must do before I can rest peacefully,"

"Hayate would kill me if I let you get hurt, Kasumi," Hayabusa's voice had softened as well, although it still held a noticeable degree of coolness in it. "For all I know, he is watching, waiting for me to slip up just so he could punish me for it. You know as well as I that the consequences would be dire if I let injury befall you,"

"I'll be careful," Kasumi promised, before turning and running up the stairs. Hayabusa stood there for a few moments before walking slowly up the stairs as well. Ein got the distinct feeling that Hayabusa hadn't promised that he would not hinder the young, somewhat naïve Kasumi in achieving her goal to find this Hayate.

Ein simply sat there, the information he had heard buzzing around in his mind. He forgot his headache as he simply tried to make sense of the information that he had heard.

Obviously this Kasumi girl was very loyal to her brother. Something had happened, and she wanted to avenge his injuries. …Ayane, she had something against Kasumi, although he had no idea what. Hayabusa, the soft spoken male, was fulfilling a promise to Hayate, who was Kasumi's brother. This Hayate character was missing after he had been injured, from the information that he had heard. Ein stood up, and walked to his room, thoughts running through his mind. He felt as though he should understand this, but why? Did he have something to do with it? Why did he feel as though he knew these people? Who was this Hayate person? What the hell was going on with everything?

He flopped heavily onto his bed, quickly dismissed the fact that it was about ten in the morning, and shut his eyes as sleep overtook him.

This won't be applicable for a while, but while I think of it… I started this story (and finished it as well, more the pity) before Tecmo had released the fact that the upcoming Ninja Gaiden game is actually two years before the first Dead or Alive, meaning that Hayabusa's clan would have already been killed before the start of the DOA series, which means that the facts aren't right when Hayabusa returns to his clan later in this story. Don't they know to be considerate of people's stories? *Sob* So the facts are out in that respect, but it won't matter for a while. I'll put this note in the first chapter it becomes applicable as well. Of course, if I heard false news and NG is coming out in a different part of the time period, please tell me! :) 


	13. A Mistake in Judgement

Night had long since fallen and all was quiet. _Most people are probably in bed, he thought to himself. _Which is where I should be, but I…____

It was almost embarrassing to himself to admit why he was awake at past two in the morning, sitting on top of the roof of the building that everybody else was asleep in with the moon shining over his head. _Nightmares. Irene… was dying again. I don't want to go back to sleep. Not with another nightmare awaiting me if I do. I don't want to relive seeing her body scattered through the room. I don't want to see any more blood, nor shed it! Is that too much to ask? To live a _normal_ life?_

_Pathetic. _The other half of his consciousness scoffed. _Now _that_ is cowardice. And you call yourself a ninja, buddy? She's dead. There's nothing you can do. Do you think that she would like seeing you moping about like the languishing brooder you've become?_

Hayabusa stared at the tops of the trees blankly, still absorbed in thought. Things must have been bad if his own sub-consciousness had managed to outsmart him like that. _But what was normal? _He thought moodily. Killing, for him, had been accepted as normal. A rather pitiable type of what one called normal, but the blood staining his hands had by far and large not been unusual. Not saying that he didn't regret it, though.

"Hayate, where are you?" he found himself exclaiming angrily. "Why did you have to go away? Why did you leave me with your sister who I know has never liked me, and expect me to get along with her and protect her while I have to fulfill my destiny to the human race as well? Why can't you do your own dirty work for once?"

He immediately regretted the words. Hayate had done what he thought was the best thing to do, and although everybody could see now that it perhaps wasn't the wisest thing to do, nobody knew so at the time, and would say so to Hayate himself anyway. He found himself suddenly desperately missing Hayate, all the times that they had been together as children and teenagers, bitterly longing for the friendship they once had.

"And will probably not have again," He said to himself softly. "One of the side effects to the Project Epsilon is memory loss, is it not? If I ever see him again he will probably not remember his sister, his family or myself. It is probably better for me to let go of the friendship now before somebody gets hurt,"

But in his heart he knew that it wasn't that simple. He and Hayate and formed a deep friendship, not severed by childish arguments or the passing of time. Hayate had been the exception for him, the one person he had let himself get closer to as a child, excluding his parents, and he couldn't just let that valuable friendship dissipate into thin air. It was worth more then that. Wasn't it?

As a child, he had envied the seemingly easy life that Hayate had, the way that he was so easygoing to the people around him, although he had never let Hayate himself know that. People had thought that him as a child was simply antisocial from upbringing, but he had been somewhat shy as a child. Hayate had ventured closer to him, and they had become friends. 

Being the sort of person that he was, he wasn't going to let go of the firmest friendship that he had ever had. 

"Oh, Hayate…" Ryu murmured as the clouds shifted, covering the moon so that he was shrouded in darkness. "Why… for everybody that cares about you, why did you do it? And now you'll never be able to tell me… my friend…"

The darkness falling over the land was nothing compared to the darkness that the young ninja felt in his heart as he sat silently on the roof of the tall building, longing for his best friend to return.

More moaning over Hayate. Ryu seems to do that a lot, doesn't he? Please tell me if you think I'm going out of character, although it's hard to get Ayane in character while still being 'soft' if you know what I mean. Anyhow, next chapter has more Ayane, and then the tournament starts! (Yippee) Hope you enjoy, as always and thank-you to those of you who review and who have!


	14. Two solitary people come together

_The sword going cleanly through his back… his mouth opening in pain but not managing to summon the energy to make a sound… blood pooling around him, his prone body falling to the floor…_

_NO! It wasn't possible! He couldn't be killed by… that thing…!_

"I won't believe it!" she screamed, before realizing that she had woken up. Perspiration was beading on her forehead and she wiped it away with a trembling hand, whispering his name under her breath, brushing damp hair away from her face. "Hayate-sama…" 

She missed him. She wasn't the only one, either, she knew. But she also knew that there was no way that she could have a restful night's sleep after that particular dream. She wasn't even going to try. She softly opened the window, before slipping out onto the roof. It was so still, dark, quietly peaceful out here. She glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the slight light which the clouds had allowed to escape. Then she started. There was a person silhouetted against the light. It couldn't be…! She let out an almost inaudible gasp of pleasure, before a voice interrupted her.

"Ayane-san. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not Hayate," his soft voice broke through her consciousness. Sounding so similar, yet so different at the same time. Obviously it hadn't been only her who had been woken up from something.

"Keeping guard or something, Ryu?" she asked sweetly, her disappointment suddenly and surprisingly disappearing the moment she set eyes on him. He looked sideways at her, before back out towards the moon again.

"No. If you really must know, I had a nightmare. Are any sarcastically cutting comments waiting for me if I tell you that?" His bitterness surprised her. The comments that she had made the other day, although she had apologized for them, must still have been bothering him. Although right now he looked as though the entire earth's future was resting on his shoulders. She shrugged. It was. 

"No, actually, that's the reason I'm here," she confessed, sitting down beside her. She was grateful that he didn't scoot over as soon as she did so. He merely remained in exactly the same position, staring out at the moon.  

"Hayate died, didn't he," 

The statement was not said as a question. She simply nodded.

"Stabbed in the back by his darling slut of a sister, Kasumi. All I could do was watch as she shoved his own sword into him. What sort of justice is there in that?" she demanded angrily. "I could just kill that damn-"

"It was just a dream, Ayane-san. Do not forget that," he paused, eyes still locked on the silvery orb hanging lazily in front of him. "I have had dreams like that before, with Hayate being murdered. However mine differs from yours in the fact that I was the one dealing the killing blow," His voice was as emotionless as if he was talking about the weather forecast. "And it was with Ryuken, not Hayate's sword,"

"Ryuken?" Ayane asked. "What's that?"

"The Dragon Sword," he said simply. "The sword of my family. The sword I have carried around for years, and so it will be until the sword chooses another owner, probably if I ever get around to producing an heir. Otherwise I don't know what will happen,"

"So you're it now, are you?" she questioned. "Head honcho?"

"The last direct member of the Hayabusa family, yes, but not the remaining clan member," he said softly. "I couldn't believe it when I woke up the other night and saw the sword's blade clean and ready to use. The dream was so realistic; I couldn't help but feel that I had committed the crime. I miss him too,"

"How much?" she asked, stifling a grin. 

"Enough," he said shortly. Obviously he had got the gist of her 'innocent' question. She shrugged. 

"Suit yourself, then," 

The silence was almost comforting in the way that neither had to force words out to break it, although she had a distinct feeling that Ryu wouldn't have, even if the silence had been uncomfortable. But finally, after pondering, she spoke.

"So. The tournament's today, in a matter of hours. What are you going to do after it's over?" 

"Probably nothing," he said softly, surprising her. "Look after my shop. Travel. Wander aimlessly around. Climb mountains and camp there for days in an attempt to get away from civilization. What I always do. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she said, before thinking back over what he had just said. "…Huh?" she exclaimed out aloud. The statement which Hayabusa had made totally contradicted with what he did for a living and who he was. "You just said you try to get away from civilization, yeah?"

"Yes. What of it?" he asked coolly.

"But you're a ninja," she said, confused. "You're supposed to help the same people who you try to get away from. What's the logic behind that?"

"Destiny and what I was bound to do and what I have to do," he said, shrugging. "What about you?" he asked, changing the subject awkwardly. "What are you going to do after this tournament is over?" 

"Find Hayate and convince him that killing Kasumi is safer for the clan's wellbeing, and makes my job a lot easier," she muttered under her breath, assuming that she wouldn't be heard. To her surprise, Ryu had heard, and he responded to her statement.

"It probably is. No clan would let a runaway live. Yet your brother has to deal with emotions surrounding his sister as well. She is not as disposable to him as any other ninja, excluding yourself and Kasumi, of course. If Hayate does convince the clan to kill her, inwardly he will always have regrets once they retrieve her body. Feelings cannot die for somebody, but Hayate is always convinced of the clan's wellbeing and regulations,"

"You probably wouldn't be disposable to him," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

"For a start, I'm not in his clan. It isn't his choice of what to do with me. But even if I were, he would not mind risking me to benefit his clan. It's the sort of person he is,"

She couldn't argue with the statement about Hayate being that sort of person, but even still... "I don't know," she protested lightly. "He really cares about you,"

"He should have listened to me instead of acting as though he knew best," he said softly. "It was the one piece of advice I could give him, that his sister was better as a weapon for rather then against the clan. But he didn't. Now he will have to kill his sister, and there is nothing that anybody can do about it,"

Next chapter, the tournament starts! No talking, just straight into the action :)


	15. Kasumi the fighter

Kasumi gritted her teeth in determination, ready to fight. Her opponent was some Italian, she didn't know his name, or recognize him from the previous tournament, come to think of it. She readied herself as the loud speaker yelled 'Get ready!' and the door to the D Octagon slammed shut as the word 'Fight' echoed around the arena.

She moved instantly, with three sharp kicks sending him flying, his body slamming into the arena walls. As he staggered up, she performed a series of flips so that she was in hitting distance of him. She attempted a series of punches, except he grabbed her arm as she was about to land the final punch and forced her to her knees, grabbing her right arm and literally pulling it out of the socket.

There was a dull crack as pain flooded through her right shoulder. She fell forward as the Italian let her go, not reacting in time to prevent falling onto her face. She remained there for a few seconds before springing to her feet, anger glistening in her eyes, grimacing slightly because of the pain that it had caused. Her arm was still hurting like hell, except she didn't care. She couldn't let this fool get in her way of finding Hayate!

She sprinted over to him and reached out like a flash, grabbing his shirtfront with her left hand, before using the speed she had gathered to hoist herself onto his face, before executing sharp stomps to push his face into the ground. She heard a distinct groan as she did so, and gave one last sharp stamp to his face before jumping to the ground. He remained motionless for several seconds, until she had begun to wonder whether he had decided the fighting arena was a good place for a nap. She jumped into the air, landing on his back heavily. He made a slight movement as if to get up, but then stopped. She stepped back, and he didn't stand. He was out for the count. She had won her first victory in the second Dead or Alive tournament. And it felt good. She wanted more victory!

She punched the air with her good hand, the excitement of victory consuming her entirely. "This is Mugen-Tenshin style!" she declared happily, as the arena door opened and she strode out. She noticed a few familiar faces in the arena crowd, including one of the Americans from the previous tournament. He was wearing a questionable top which reminded her distantly of a crop-top, and shorts. What was his name? Zack or something? Whatever it was, she hadn't liked him in the previous tournament, and still didn't now.

"Hey, you wanna show me your stuff?" he asked, grabbing her left arm as she walked past him, attempting to ignore him. "You wanna show me your Mugen-Tenshin style?" the last sentence was mocking enough that she clearly understood the 'other' meaning to it. _Are all Americans this crude, or just this one? She thought to herself. _

"I will if you don't shut it," she responded, smiling sweetly. "I'll show you my famous Oboro. It's perfect for downing rowdy Americans like you. Do you want to see it now, or should I schedule in an appointment?"

He let go of her arm somewhat reluctantly, and she smiled again before continuing up to the arena's exits. If all the fights were this easy, then it would be a piece of cake! She hoped that Hayabusa and Ayane were watching. Then they would be able to see who really was the more powerful out of them. She strode outside, and instantly shivered. It was snowing! The wind was blowing, snow lapping at her ankles. Suddenly, there was a shout, followed by someone grabbing her arm roughly. It was Ayane. And she didn't look impressed.

"What do you want, Ayane?" Kasumi asked airily. "Why did you come when you know that you are going to get defeated?" Meanwhile, she had noticed that people were gathering at the sheltered area just near the arena. They could sense a fight, and so could she, for that matter.

"That will not happen," Ayane hissed under her breath. "Because I am going to fight you now. I will show you the power of Mugen-Tenshin Hajin-Mon. I will bring you to your knees, begging for mercy which I shall not give you. You have reached the end of your fight at this tournament, Kasumi, I will make sure of that,"

"Really?" Kasumi asked. "That's news to me,"

"You always were the heroine!" Ayane hissed angrily. Kasumi raised her eyebrow slightly, but didn't say a word, getting into her fighting stance. To her surprise, the loudspeaker boomed, echoing around the area.

"Get ready!"

_Somebody must have alerted the loudspeaker person, and this is another real fight. _Kasumi thought. _I won't disappoint Hayate. I will defeat Ayane and make her beg for mercy! I will do anything; beat anyone to see him again!_

"Fight!"

Several things happened at once. The first was that Ayane immediately lashed out with several fast punches that almost looked to Kasumi as though her half-sister was trying to do an absurd dance. She threw out her arms, so that they took most of the impact, although she did step back a step or two from the sheer force that Ayane was using. She had improved vastly since the last time that Kasumi had seen her. 

The second was that she heard some people yelling to her faintly. She quickly glanced over and to her horror saw that all the Americans were gathered at the entrance to the D Octagon arena, cheering her on. She gritted her teeth in determination. If she had an audience, she might as well not disappoint them.

She decided quickly. As soon as Ayane had finished her punches, she grabbed her, performing an Oboro. The lightning fast attack was soon over, as Ayane slumped to the ground. She soon got up, glaring ferociously at Kasumi, who ignored it, and kicked her across the snow with three sharp kicks, identical to the ones she had used on the Italian earlier. Again, Ayane fell down in the snow, but this time as she got up, she performed a kick that Kasumi had never seen before, hitting her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Kasumi got up slowly, anger burning inside her. _Does she want to play dirty, does she? She thought bitterly. __If she does, then two can play at that game! She punched her half-sister twice before ending the short combo with a backwards kick, which Ayane managed to avoid, coming back with a series of kicks which made Kasumi fall back into the snow._

This time, however, it was her turn. Ayane came closer as Kasumi stayed on the ground, snow soaking through her kunoichi outfit. Thinking her knocked out, Ayane dropped her guard, and Kasumi struck, with a sharp backwards kick as she was getting up. Ayane dropped to the snow, not moving. She had won again. And this time it was more then some fight to get to the top. This was the fight that she had been training for. To put Ayane down a peg or two. 

Her half-sister got to her knees. She was panting, and glared ferociously at Kasumi, who could have sworn that she heard 'How?' escape the kunoichi's lips. Kasumi folded her arms across her chest, before looking across at Ayane.

"You can't defeat me," she said simply, before walking off to shelter, leaving Ayane in the snow, speechless.  

Sorry, guys… believe me, I didn't want her to lose either, but I have to follow the DOA2 storyline as well as writing a little in between stuff… (of which there is so much more later) but as is, unfortunately Kasumi has to win. I am really sorry! 


	16. A plot for revenge

I know… I didn't want her to lose either! I'm sorry! But… err… just read *sheepish grin*

She couldn't believe it. She had lost. All she had trained for and strived to achieve. Gone, in the flash of an eye. How could she lose so humiliatingly badly? She had a good mind to dig out a sword or katana and simply shove it through the bitch's back. 'You can't defeat me' rang through her mind, infuriating her even more. Kasumi's smug glance at her down in the snow. How could she have lost? She fell to a sitting position down in the snow, the wounds seemingly invisible to her in the midst of her anger, and fumed. Suddenly, somebody touched her on the shoulder. She turned around and swung her fist, aiming for the person's stomach. They grabbed it easily, and she looked up furiously. Who dared bother her and not let her hit them? The soft, gentle voice immediately aroused her suspicions. What did he want?

"You put up a good fight," Ryu knelt down beside her. "Do you want a hand up?"

"NO!" she exclaimed angrily. "I can look after myself! Get the hell out of here!" she stood up briskly as he did, and pushed him in the chest. He didn't try to counter it, simply stumbling back as she pushed him. She glared at him as he looked coolly down at her. "You… you prick. You're siding with Kasumi! Why should I want any help from you?"

"I am doing as Hayate instructed me to. Protect his sister. But nobody ever said that I was planning on siding with her," Ryu said, brushing back large bangs which nearly obscured his eyes from sight. "In fact, I have less chance of doing such. She has lost my trust after the previous encounters I have had with her of late,"

"Doesn't take much, does it?" Ayane retorted. 

Whatever reaction she had hoped to get from him, anger perhaps, or sadness, she didn't get. Simply a cool nod.

"You're right, it doesn't. Which is why I have decided that I want to help you,"

"How can _you _help _me?" she demanded bemusedly. "What help would I want or need from a cliché, up himself ninja who thinks that appearing suddenly in swirls of leaves is cool?"_

He shrugged. "I have a fight with Kasumi tonight. I know that me fighting her will not be the same as settling the score yourself, except surely you would know that assassinations are banned in this tournament. Hayate wants me to protect her from harm. The Tengu which the human victor must face is basically suicide to anyone who dares challenge it. If Kasumi beats everybody else, she will have to face the Tengu. She will die," 

Ayane nodded. "So, big deal. She dies and we're all happy,"

"Not quite," Ryu said. "Hayate will find me and kill me. Probably also you, because he will assume that you were the one who killed her illegally. My plan is that I defeat her tonight. Then she will be out of the tournament, and I will have protected her from death,"

"How is turning her over to me so I can kill her protecting her?" Ayane asked. "Don't be an idiot,"

"I was ordered to protect her from harm," Ryu said almost inaudibly. "Not to protect her from what will befall her if she disgraces the clan's name. Even Hayate knows that what she has done is worthy of assassination, even if we don't know where he is now. He will not object to her death if the clan is involved and she has disgraced it, which she has,"

"A loophole in his plan because of his loyalties," Ayane said, nodding. Hayabusa's plan was making more and more sense. He wasn't just a pretty face, obviously. Wait. He _wasn't _a pretty face! What was she thinking?

She shrugged the thought off, along with the petty indignation. She was a girl. She liked guys. Check. They had to have nice abs. Check. Guys with nice facial features. Check. Nice eyes. Check. Pretty good looks overall. Check. What was there to be protesting about? The personality, but hey, everybody had flaws. Hers was probably the fact that she played the bitch role so well. _Hang on a sec, she thought to herself suddenly. _How is that a flaw?__

"Exactly," he said, bringing her back to reality. "Or if worst comes to worst, you can simply not kill her,"

"…What?" she spluttered indignantly. "That's the best bit!"

"Death isn't the only way to settle scores, Ayane," he said softly. His eyes had darkened, and she had the distinct feeling that he was talking from experience, from which side, she didn't know. Neither sounded overly fun. "There are lot worse things then death,"


	17. A Destiny Foretold

Guess I better straighten up a few things, although I love that people notice them, it's wonderful having people read my stories! ^^ 

This story is DOA 2 and if you have played it you don't actually find out who wins. Only the owners of DOA 3 are entitled to that, (which kind of sucks) but it says in the instruction manual that Hayabusa wins. (Oops! Spoilt the ending… actually, not really…) and so in the overall tournament, he will win. And the battle between Ayane and Kasumi was a real battle, although there are a few unofficial battles as Ayane hangs around for a bit longer (come on, I wouldn't get rid of her that easily!) 

Hope that's cleared the waters a bit more, if there's anything else I have to mention please just drop me a review or a line and tell me.

On reviews, thank-you ever so ever so much for reviewing! I didn't realize there were so many Ayane fans! (Shame there's not more Ryu fans though… *sigh*)

The words which he had spoken to Ayane hours earlier were coming back now as he walked over to the garden area of the place that the tournament was being held. The garden consisted of several levels, lethal to anybody who was knocked down there. _I wasn't planning on doing that, at least. _

He sighed. He knew only too well, he hated to say, what worse things there were. Being on the receiving end hadn't been nice, he had to say. Foster had dealt out a good hand of torturing of various sorts, he had to say. Lucky for the whole world that he was dead now. His heart clenched as he thought of the time that Foster had killed Irene. He had abandoned all pretences of hiding emotion then. He had cried for his beloved, the first tears that he had shed since being a child. That had been the worst thing that anybody could have done to him. Even though Ryuken had somehow revived her, he still couldn't forget the blinding pain that he had felt when she had slumped in his arms, a sword sticking out of her back, her blood pouring all over him.

_And I told Ayane to do… that, torture… to Kasumi if necessary? _He thought. _What was I thinking? I wouldn't want anybody to experience that, even if Kasumi annoys me sometimes… am I really such a sociopath that this sort of thing doesn't matter to me as long as my work is done… I don't believe myself… what would Irene say if she were here now?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a slight pattering of feet. He spun and saw Kasumi trying to sneak past him. He immediately jumped at her, and she leapt also, trying to block the attacks which he halfheartedly unleashed, and succeeding easily, but not gaining enough advantage to flee, which would have been a difficult feat anyway, considering the fact that he was armed with Ryuken. Finally, they both landed on the ground, Kasumi panting slightly.

"I don't want to fight!" the young kunoichi protested. He shook his head slightly, reaching almost unconsciously behind him to check if his sword was holstered, and then felt slightly stupid, considering it had been only moments before he had seen her. 

It was time now; the time had come for him to fulfill his promise to Hayate. 

"Let me go!" she demanded, voice rising in volume. He shook his head again, more noticeably. 

"Please leave, Hayabusa-san," she begged, her eyes pleading. 

"I made a promise to Hayate," he said softly, eyes never leaving her face. "I cannot let you die,"

The message was obviously not getting through to her. Her young face showed an expression of confusion. He took a deep breath and spoke, voice slightly louder. "I cannot let you go,"

Her eyes widened, the impact of this had hit home. He could almost see the cogs turning inside the kunoichi's head. He readied himself, getting into a fighting stance. 

"Remember, that the way of the shinobi is a harsh one,"

She readied herself as well, although somewhat reluctantly. The loudspeaker, hardly visible in the lack of light, yelled 'Fight!' Obviously they were monitoring all the competitors to see whether they were about to fight and then call it. He instantly grabbed her, before punching her up into the air. He watched her for a second, before disappearing into thin air and re-appearing just near her as she flew up, helpless, bright golden fireflies trailing his every move as opposed to the usual leaves. He grabbed her in mid-air and performed the deadly Izuna. The air rushed past him as he spiraled down towards the ground, still holding the struggling Kasumi, and just as they were about to hit the ground, he jumped nimbly away; letting the young kunoichi hit the ground, falling onto her back.

He heard a soft moan of pain from the girl, and guilt suddenly hit him. He shook off the thought. _Better she be injured then dead, _he reminded himself. _And Hayate would prefer the first to the latter, no doubt. Unless… the clan… of course._

She stumbled to a standing position, and he instantly attacked. He performed two punches before getting into a position where he could perform another three kicks, all the blows connecting. She fell to the ground again, face first this time, and Hayabusa was reminded unpleasantly of how young and innocent she really was. He shook off these thoughts as well. She wasn't moving. He halfheartedly sighed, before jumping onto her, his feet connecting on her back, his hand lashing down and also stabilizing him. She was down for the count. She was out of the tournament. But more importantly, she was safe.

She murmured something incoherent and looked fearfully up at him, amber eyes wide with disbelief and pain. He looked down at her, before sighing softly and speaking. 

"Don't worry… Kasumi,"


	18. Wrath of the Dragons

Chapter name a little play on words, everybody knows (I think??) how Jann-Lee (or Chicken-Man as a few of my friends and I like to call him) is called the Dragon, and some people know how Ryu means Dragon in Japanese (Dragon Falcon?? But anyway Japanese makes it sound so much nicer) so… :)

Ryu hadn't had much sleep that previous night after beating Kasumi. In his heart, he really doubted that what he had done to Kasumi was what Hayate had wanted him to do, and that in itself was enough to deprive him of a good night's sleep, not to mention that he had mysterious dreams about a lavender-haired girl stabbing him in the back as soon as he did eventually drift off to sleep. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that Kasumi was better injured as she was then dead at the hands of the Tengu, he still couldn't purely persuade himself into believing that he had done the right thing. He decided to wander the streets around the tournament arenas, and ended up on a building with several rails. The whole street area looked ransacked and dilapidated, and he was just considering going when suddenly, a fist flew at him accompanied by a loud battle cry.

He immediately caught it, blocking it from doing any damage. Annoyance filled him that he hadn't noticed the fist flying at him until it was nearly too late. He glanced at the owner, still holding his arm. Jann-Lee from the previous tournament. He was strong, but he let emotions drive him too much. _Not that I can really say that I haven't done that myself, he thought bitterly._

"Leave. Now," he hissed at the Chinese fighter, who was looking more and more arrogant by the minute. "This is not a simple combat championship,"

The look that he was given proved that the self proclaimed 'Dragon' was not getting the gist of his statement. He decided to bite the bullet and put his words into cynicism clear enough for anybody to understand. No others should die by the hands of the Tengu. Without realizing it at the time, he was set on doing the same thing to Jann-Lee as to Kasumi. "I don't think you… _commoners can handle it," he hissed instead._

"Keep your mouth shut!" Jann-Lee spat out, wrenching his arm from Ryu's grip, immediately getting into a fighting position. It didn't surprise Ryu this time to hear the speaker yell 'Fight!'

Jann-Lee made the first move. It was clear that he would, considering the offence he had taken at Ryu's previous comment. He let one first fly, and Ryu immediately put up his hands into the blocking position. Even still, the force of the blow made him stumble with the impact of it. The Chinese man used this as an advantage, grabbing his head from behind and pulling it backwards.

Pain flooded through his neck and so it barely registered when he was thrown to the ground. He remained there for several moments, trying to get the world into focus again. He got up before performing the 'Tenrin-Kyaku', the backwards kick which Hayate had once seen and swore that he had got muscle strain simply watching him do it. He chastised himself mentally. Now was not the time to be thinking of Hayate. Jann-Lee fell to the ground, before rolling and getting up instantly. _It didn't matter. _Ryu thought to himself, adrenaline powering him. _There is no way that you are losing to an arrogant Chinese man whose battle cry sounds more like a chicken then anything else. He did a high kick, temporarily stunning the Chinese, before bringing his heel above his head and slamming it down on Jann-Lee's own. He fell to the ground instantly, and remained there for a few seconds before jumping to his feet again. Ryu was expecting this, and immediately ran over to Jann-Lee before grabbing him. The Chinese man stiffened, expecting a throw; expect Ryu merely vaulted over his shoulders, landing at Jann-Lee's back. Before the Dragon could turn around, Ryu neatly grabbed him, jumping onto his shoulders, before flipping him over and landing him face-first into the dirt in a matter of seconds. Jann-Lee immediately sprung to his feet, more because of pride then anything else, as Ryu did another neat flip off him onto the ground, before unleashing the two punches followed by three kicks he had used on Kasumi. Only four of the blows connected, but it was enough to send Jann-Lee flying across the arena. It was over. He was one step closer to facing his destiny. _

"Fare-thee-well," he said softly, before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

More Ein next chapter, for those Ein fans, I know you exist because my friend is one (actually, I think she likes his looks more then _him but, well…) Anyway, until next time! :)_


	19. Project Epsilon

WolfRunner: No, it didn't sound like a flame to me, it sounded like positive criticism which is good for me! 

And thank-you to everyone for the reviews because I love hearing your comments! Yes, there is a lot of unofficial fights in this story because half of these people have already been knocked out… but I have to stick with the story-line to some extent, at least, and need to get the interesting parts of story mode in.  

He looked at the girl who had approached him. A pretty young blonde, with her hair in a long ponytail behind her. She walked over to him, arms folded.

"I heard Project Epsilon was a failure…"

Ein paused. Project Epsilon? He had heard stories about that, about how its aftereffects included memory loss, among others. Could it have something to do with why he couldn't remember? 

"What do you know?" he said, stumbling slightly over the words. "What is Project Epsilon?"

She smiled at him almost enticingly. "It seems like you are no longer under mind control," she paused, getting into a fighting position. "Brace yourself!"

He immediately struck, with three swift punches that sent her flying across the arena. As soon as she got up, he let fly another three punches, sending her flying in the opposite direction. _If she won't tell me anything, then she is just an obstacle to my goal, _he told himself determinedly. She leant against the wall, before getting up, still against the wall. He took this as a prime opportunity, grabbing her, and delivering a deadly barrage of punches, before throwing her down to the ground. She slumped there, unconscious. That hadn't been hard, and the sheer adrenaline of the victory had excited him in its consuming power.

"Good vibration!" he exclaimed, staring at the girl, before heading out of the arena. He wandered aimlessly for a while, before walking slowly over to the small garden that he had found not too long ago. To his surprise, there was a girl sitting there. A girl with orange hair… the same girl that he had seen talking to that guy, what was his name? He couldn't remember, but she still seemed familiar… she turned when she heard his footsteps, and her amber eyes were wide as she saw him.

"Hayate!" she exclaimed, her voice high and girlish. He narrowed his eyes in thought, before speaking, picking his words carefully, direct and straight to the point.

"You know me?" he asked curiously. She looked even more stunned then before, if indeed that were possible. She stood up and walked over, closer to him, close enough that he could smell the sweet perfume that she was wearing. Her expression was crestfallen.

"Aren't you… my brother?" she asked hesitantly. He shrugged, before getting into a fighting position. She stood, stunned, as he punched her across the arena. Even all the blows he unleashed more due to shock then anything, she refused to attack back. He even performed a sharp karate chop to her head as the finishing blow. She stumbled before falling onto the ground, unconscious. He was about to walk off and leave her, but something inside him turned him back. She was still lying there. He walked over to her, and picked up her limp body before placing it in his lap, stroking her hair, looking at her features, anything that could try and convince him that she was indeed his sister, and he was her brother… trying to unlock the memories which had been buried underneath God knows what… despite himself, he felt despair flood through him. Why couldn't he remember this innocent girl? Where had all his memories gone? Was it Project Epsilon? Would he ever remember everybody again, or was he doomed to live as a wandering nomad who had no family, no proper name, nobody who cared about his wellbeing?

He bowed his head over her unconscious body, as a lone tear fell from his eyes and landed onto her pale face.


	20. Hayate again

Ayane had made her way into the Opera House. Why, she didn't know, maybe for a little exploring before she left, as it brought back some good memories. A girl with long, blonde hair was standing there, back to her. When she heard her footsteps, she spun around and her aquamarine eyes hardened the moment they settled on Ayane.

"Wow, you came all the way here?" Ayane asked carelessly. She knew who this was. Helena Douglas, illegitimate daughter of Fame Douglas, who had just been assassinated, and his mistress, who had been killed on the stage. By her hand, of course. It had been necessary. And obviously the French girl had deduced the facts, or perhaps recognized her. Either way, it didn't matter.

"You…" Helena hissed, voice dripping with malice. Ayane looked at her disdainfully, before tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Well… who knows?" she asked airily. The French opera singer took a step closer.

"You… you killed my mother!" she exclaimed, getting into a fighting position. Ayane shrugged, getting into her own fighting position as the speaker called 'Fight!' Helena made the first move, unleashing a short combo before getting into her 'Bokuho' position. Ayane grabbed her as she was down, launching a low throw, and jumping on her as she lay on the ground. Helena came at her again, pulling off a move which reminded Ayane distantly of a bird flapping its wings. She simply blocked the first half of it, before countering the second. Helena got up slower this time, stunned, which left her open for attack, which Ayane unleashed mercilessly, ending with her own special move, 'Sho-Ayane'. The French girl flew across the arena and hit the wall, motionless. 

Finally! A victory! _No harm in pretending she was Kasumi, after all, _Ayane thought to herself as she smirked at the French girl. Then she leaned closer to her, feigning concern.

"Hey," she started, looking at the motionless body. "You didn't have time to sing!"

*

Ayane had decided to not leave the area until the victor of the tournament was declared, after that previous incident she found it rather amusing to see who else would turn up. She glanced up at the scoreboard, before a smile crept onto her face. 

The smile soon grew into a full fledged grin. 

Kasumi had lost to Hayabusa. That meant that she was also out of the tournament, which meant that she was free to finally dispose of the infuriating kunoichi. She felt grateful towards Hayabusa. It was because of him that Kasumi had lost, and also because of him that she actually could legally get rid of her. Trust him to find the loopholes in Hayate's complicated rules.

She glanced back up at the scoreboard again curiously. Jann-Lee was out of the tournament, as was that French girl. That was most of them, actually, all minus two. Hayabusa and a mysterious man called Ein. 

Ein? That was a name that she hadn't recognized from the previous tournament. She looked at the picture, and her jaw slowly dropped open.

That was no Ein. That was Hayate. Surely.

She shut her mouth again, looking at the stats of 'Ein'. 23, that was right. 5'11, that was right too. He was found in Germany, a forest… that was where Project Epsilon had occurred, wasn't it? This was Hayate! She scanned down the list of details, until she came across one. 

'Ein's serious amnesia means that he cannot recall his past, and comes to this tournament to seek the truth and find answers to self-discovery.' 

Wasn't a side effect of Project Epsilon memory loss? She had recalled somebody talking about it a few years ago, and she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was. He had been captured by the same people who had created Project Epsilon… that was it! 

She raced through the corridors and out to the garden, the only place where people could go, because there were other events happening everywhere else. Sure enough, he was there, looking out at the sky. He turned as he saw her, and immediately got into a fighting position.

"Aren't you… Hayate?" she asked questioningly. There was no response, expect a call of 'Fight!' from somewhere in the vicinity.

A sharp punch to her face started her into reality. If this was Hayate, then the memory loss was certainly apparent. He grabbed her by her shoulders, before delivering a sharp karate chop to her head. Pain exploded through her head and she slumped to the ground. After her head had cleared sufficiently, she stood up and braced herself for the kicks that were coming her way.

She got a few decent kicks in before he began to get wise to her 'strategy' and began blocking her. She grabbed him and attempted to throw him, except he managed to get out of the throw, pushing her and making her lose her grip. _I'm fighting Hayate… she thought wearily. _For the first time in a long time. In a proper match, not just sparring. But he doesn't know he's Hayate, which means he doesn't know that I… he doesn't care whether I live or die after this fight. He doesn't even know who I am. To him I'm just another competitor. But I don't want to hurt him.__

She let a few halfhearted punches go, which were easily countered by him, ending up with her on the ground again. She staggered to her feet but a well-aimed punch came at her too fast to be avoided, hitting her in the stomach. She dropped to her knees, winded by the blow, before falling onto the ground. 

The shock was too complete. Hayate was in the tournament. And he had beaten her.

She knew that, with the last of her strength ebbing away. The last thing she felt before blackness fell around her was the sharp pain of boots hitting her back, and then she knew no more.

*

"Not again," Ryu murmured, carrying the unconscious lavender-haired girl to her room. "Surely she didn't have the lack of sense to challenge Kasumi again…"

She suddenly stirred in his arms, eyes opening blearily. He gently smoothed her hair and touched her forehead as if to check her temperature, as he was carrying her. "You didn't challenge her again, did you?" he asked her quietly, stopping the slight caresses which he wasn't even aware of doing. 

"No… Hayate…" she whispered, before shutting her eyes again. 

Hayate? She was probably delirious. Or missing him. That would have been it. _Weren't we all, _he thought to himself bitterly. _And wouldn't Hayate be laughing if he saw exactly how much everybody was missing him… _

He opened the door to her room, placing her gently on her bed, and pulling the sheets over her. She didn't have many actual wounds, but she would probably be a bit sore the next day. He suddenly felt a strange feeling; he couldn't quite explain it, except he knew it was something to do with the unconscious girl lying in front of him.

"Ayane…" he whispered, looking back at her before he left the room. "Be careful. I'll look after you. On that you have my word,"

*

She slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden light that nearly blinded her. She blinked and slowly, everything came into focus. She was in her room. What had happened?

_Hayate… _the thought hit her like a blow, and she flinched, recalling the blows which Hayate had rained down on her. He obviously couldn't remember a thing. How had she got here?

_Gentle hands touching her forehead… opening her eyes and staring into bright emerald orbs… _

_He was looking after her… again…_

_"You didn't challenge her again, did you?"_

_"No… Hayate…"_

She started out of the memory. Who did she know that had green eyes and would help her? If she had asked that question to herself a week ago, she would have said nobody. But now, she could answer the question, if she wanted to admit it. That was a totally different question.

_He really does care, even after me being a bitch to him, he's still looked after me through this entire tournament and it's almost enjoyable… but why? What does he want from me? How am I supposed to repay him? Damn, why can't you be a bit easier to read, Ryu Hayabusa?_

Ayane closed her eyes again. The tournament was nearly over. Hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about anything until then.

Yay, a long chapter ^^ Poor Ayane, she beats Helena then loses to Hayate… but that's the way of the game, I guess, and I HAD to have her win something… Lady Pyro, on one of the first pages in the DOA 3 instruction manual it says that Ryu beat the Tengu from DOA 2. (Yay) But it doesn't actually drop many hints as to who won on DOA 2, does it? Oh well, till next time!


	21. Ein shooted down

Hmm, just a few things to say before I begin... 

Firstly, Lady Sun, I don't know whether you were being sarcastic or what, but if you weren't, I am certainly not ashamed, in fact quite the opposite. :) My story is about the four ninjas, yeah? Helena plays no important part in the story and so I really don't care whether she gets to land a blow or not because she isn't a main character in this story. If you're looking for a Helena story, this ain't it. And you probably won't get them from me, either.

Secondly, I know that I can't always get Ayane in proper character. I'm not angry about this; don't get me wrong, I'm simply saying that this is a totally different story from what I usually write. If anyone has suggestions on how I can improve writing her, feel free to tell me, and I am grateful that some people have already been doing so. ^^

Third and final thing: some people might not like this chapter. There's no dramatics as far as talking goes, just plain fighting. As I have said previously, I'm trying to stick to the DOA 2 storyline as much as possible, so there won't be too much extra dialogue. I am personally seriously considering writing an alternative chapter with extra dialogue because it could make a great story, but this story isn't it either, at least right now. 

Anyway, that's enough talk from me. Hope you enjoy this chapter, but if you don't, it isn't my fault that my writing doesn't appeal to everybody. And no, I'm not reacting badly to criticism. I just like expressing my own opinion, and this is it. Enjoy the chapter! :)

Ryu had decided, against his better judgment, to head off to the church afterwards. He didn't really know why, expect it was the only place he hadn't explored, and hopefully nobody else would be there so he could have some thinking time. He was only one fight away from the Tengu, which worried him to some extent. Would this be it? If he lost... he would be killed. All the things that he had stood up to previously, saved the world a few times in the process, and this would be the end? He dearly hoped not, but then again... 

Stepping into the door, he immediately realized that he wasn't alone. The man turned, and Ryu started, staring into those familiar features. There was no recognition at all in the chocolate brown eyes that stared into him, bored into him. Ayane had been right; he should have listened to her. Hayate was here. Right here.

*

Ein turned around at the sound of footsteps. That was him, the guy who he had seen talking with the orange-haired girl. He hoped that she was okay. The man who had just walked in was clothed in black ninja gear, so his face was obscured, but that still didn't disguise the shock that the man had had when he had set eyes on Ein. _That was odd, _Ein thought to himself. _He's a Japanese ninja, right? So why does he have green eyes? Don't most Japanese people have brown eyes? They're almost emerald-like, and they seem... somewhat familiar..._

*

"You... you couldn't be..." Ryu managed to stutter out. Hayate simply glared at him, before getting into a fighting position. He didn't even hear the speaker call 'Fight!' before Hayate had sent a blow coming his way. Although Hayate was fighting in a totally different way to the way he usually did, he had obviously picked up karate. Ryu could still see a few things which were similar to the familiar Mugen-Tenshin. He flung his arms up to block the blow, before grabbing Hayate by the shirtfront and launching into an Izuna, leaves trailing his every move. He jumped away and Hayate remained motionless for several moments before springing to his feet, anger apparent in his eyes.

*

Ein was burning with adrenaline and fury. So this ninja was more then just clothed appropriately, he was good. His back was still agonizingly sore, but he leapt to his feet anyway. The ninja dropped his guard for a moment, but gathered it back up again, doing a high kick which disorientated him. It was too late when he saw the ninja's heel above his head slam down and hit home. 

These moves that this ninja was using... they seemed vaguely familiar. His friend... wait, had he remembered something? Was this man, ninja that was laying the boot into him a friend? The one who everyone had called the super ninja, his friend? He had heard his name, Hayabusa... what was his first name? When had he heard it before... 

*

Ryu was being careful to use moves which Hayate should remember. When his friend was about to go down, he unleashed a powerful 'Tenrin-Kyaku' which sent Hayate falling to the ground. 

*

That move! The pain flooded through him as he hit the ground, but he had seen it before...

_"Gods, Ryu, how do you do something like that? My muscles are beginning to hurt just watching you, I'll get muscle strain! Stop it!" Hayate laughed, doing a poor imitation of the move before flopping to the floor, laughing. "That is totally unnatural," _

_"Hayate... stop being such a fool..." Ryu murmured softly, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a standing position, before doing the move again, sending Hayate falling to the mats on the floor. He looked slightly happier then before, but still wasn't smiling. Hayate however, was trying to regain his breath, composure, stop laughing and stand up all at once. He stood up again, before leaning against the wall, still chuckling. _

_"Hayate, nii-san!" Kasumi chirped from the corner, watching the two. "Nice fight!"_

_"I could do better," Ayane muttered under her breath, glaring at Kasumi._

"Now I remember..." he said softly, struggling to a sitting position. Ryu, who had been looking out of the window, turned to face him. "You're Ryu..."

"I know you very well," Ryu said softly. Seeing him struggle to remember, he sighed softly, looking into his eyes. "Trust me,"

Ein nodded slightly. The super ninja looked down at him sitting on the floor.

"Until then," Ryu said, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.


	22. The Tengu

Ryu appeared in a swirl of leaves, in the Tengu's battle arena, his heart pounding. It glared at him, before flying up into the air, perching on a tree branch. He got into his fighting stance, and as the Tengu jumped down, hitting the ground just in front of him, he leant slightly closer to it.

"Let me take your life," he hissed.

"Who's talking," the Tengu responded, unleashing a barrage of punches, catching Ryu unaware. He fell to the ground after the first blow, partially because he had been winded from it, and partially because then he would avoid the other four or so blows which would have hit him if he hadn't. As he got up, the Tengu's foot came down, just missing him. He grabbed at it blindly, before launching into an Izuna, and jumping onto it shortly after it had hit the ground. It got up, turning away from him. He wondered briefly what it was doing, before it started stomping its feet against the ground. It turned around, and a giant gust of wind flew along the ground. The super ninja immediately blocked it, his arms taking the impact. Even so, bits of dust and dirt flicked mercilessly against him, having been churned up from the wind.

Ryu did a forward roll before seemingly doing it again. The Tengu moved forward, almost as if to grab him, except he lashed out with his feet as he did so, before coming back with a lightning fast 'Tenrin-Kyaku' which knocked the Tengu down again. As soon as it stood up, he grabbed hold of it easily before launching into another Izuna. It didn't move, after making the odd groaning noise for a few seconds it was still. 

The fight was over, he had won, fulfilled his destiny. He jumped on it again for good measure before looking over at the pitiful figure sprawled at his feet.

"Farewell," he said softly, before turning away from it to stare at the sky. "Evil has vanished," he mused out aloud, contemplating what he would do now. What was there to do now, after all? He had fulfilled the promise to Hayate; he had no Irene to go back to, what else was he supposed to do? "There's no use staying here any longer," he surmised out aloud. 

With that, the super ninja turned, before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Okay, this time I think I'll do three chapters because this one doesn't really count as a chapter, more like a paragraph. :| So, now we can find out what happens with Ryu and Ayane (if anything) and yeah, I drop the seriousness level a little from here. I've had to delete half of these ending chapters because they've turned downright funny instead of at least half serious and this was the best I could do ^^; 

And a little note I put in a while ago, this story was completed before Tecmo announced that the new Ninja Gaiden was two years before DOA and that was when Hayabusa's clan was decimated, so in this story they still exist. Mmm, I guess you could say it did follow the storyline of the game until Tecmo decided to change the storyline…


	23. The Aftermath

"Ayane!" the voice started her, made her turn around. "Ryu did it! He won! The world is safe!"

"Hayate!" she exclaimed happily, looking at him, before walking slowly over to him, trying to make sure that she didn't look overly excited at seeing him. He grinned and nodded. 

"Ryu gave me a good knock on the head when we fought. He hasn't told me exactly what's going on, but I'm sure I'll find out in time. At least I remember everything that I've been told, anyway. Ayane, it's good to see you again,"

"After you kicked my ass," she muttered under her breath. Luckily, Hayate didn't hear. To her astonishment, he swept her up in a brief hug before looking into her eyes and speaking again.

"I'm glad that Ryu's okay. You too. How is…"

His voice suddenly drifted away, and Ayane bit her tongue. She knew that Hayate was going to mention Kasumi, and she didn't even want to think about that devious, runaway swine. Not only that, but to some extent it wasn't her story to tell. Ryu had really been the one who took care of Kasumi, her and even Hayate to some extent. He even had managed to save the world while doing so. No wonder he was called the Super Ninja. 

Speaking of which…

"Do you know where Ryu's gone?" Ayane asked Hayate suddenly. He shrugged.

"He gave me some cryptic message before disappearing. The basic gist of the message was that he didn't like the media making up total rubbish so he's high-tailed it for a little while," Hayate said. "Trust him to run from the spotlight,"

This bothered her to some extent. "Do you know when he'll be back?" she asked.

"Why?" Hayate asked, raising his eyebrows before looking at her suspiciously. Ayane knew that he was instantly putting two and two together, and tried hastily to think of a feasible excuse. 

"You see, I had to find some information about… _Kasumi from him," Ayane said, trying not to add extra malice on the word 'Kasumi' although for her it was nigh-on impossible. _

"Sure, sure," Hayate said, and she knew that he hadn't believed a word she had said. She sighed and decided to tell him the truth, or as close to it as she was planning on telling anybody.

"He helped me during the tournament. I just wanted to say thank you to him," 

"Oh, really?" Hayate's eyebrows were so high now that they were almost hidden behind his hairline. "How exactly did he help you?"

"Don't sound as if you're jealous that you're not getting all the attention," she retorted. "He helped me after you beat the crap out of me, actually,"

His smile faded, and an apologetic look appeared on his face. "Ayane, look, I…"

"Yeah, I know," she interrupted, waving away the attempted apology. "You weren't you and you didn't know. Just don't do it again, alright? Otherwise I really will fight back instead of standing around like a stunned mullet,"

"Okay," Hayate still didn't look as though the attempted apology had been accepted. "I really…"

"I get the picture," Ayane snapped. "Besides, what makes you think I'd be interested in a cliché ninja like _Hayabusa?_" she asked sarcastically, hoping that her true feelings wouldn't shine through the sarcasm. Hayate smiled, almost as though the unspoken apology had been accepted.

"It's because ninjas speak nicely, are extremely handsome, have wonderful charm…"

"And big egos," she muttered under her breath. Hayate shook his head, before his expression grew serious.

"Seriously, Ayane. I'm surprised that he's let you go ten feet within the 'girl-proof' walls he's set up. A bit after that darned assassin tried to knock me off and a bit before I left, his girlfriend Irene was murdered. Why else do you think that you haven't seen much of him over the last few months?"

"Because you weren't there," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Hayate, he wouldn't have spoken to me even if he had come. So was he trying to kill everyone who looked like the murderer or something? Going hunting to spill some blood?"

"Far from it," Hayate said. "He was mourning her, of course,"

"You're _joking,_" she said incredulously. He didn't seem the type. Hayate nodded again. 

"He went all 'self-blaming' for a while until I threatened to beat it out of him once I was better. He's a really nice guy once you get to know him, you know, which I'm sure you already do," Hayate added unsubtly. The slight flush that graced Ayane's cheeks let Hayate know that his statement had hit home.

"I never thought I'd see the day. Ayane, self proclaimed tough chick, falls for my best friend! What next?" he asked. Ayane glared.

"I haven't fallen for anybody! You thrive on imaginary romance, don't you, Hayate?" she asked mulishly. Hayate grinned, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, leaving an infuriated Ayane standing there alone.

Gah, stunned mullet, what's this story turning to? (A rhetorical question, that) Anyway, hope you enjoy, as always, and until next time. :) 


	24. Could be in danger

'DUST CLOUD COVERS EARTH, SHROUDING PEOPLE IN DARKNESS AND FEARING THE WORST!' the headline of the paper screamed. Ryu sighed to himself. He couldn't help that. When he had beaten the Tengu, the collapse of it had generated a gigantic dust cloud, which had somehow covered the entire world. Not to mention that the DOATEC were up to no good, their desire for power after the previous projects driving them even further. What else could go wrong? _If you can't see her again, or she doesn't want you to see her, _his mind said. He shook his head. 

*

Ayane had gone back to the clan and had been training for the last few weeks after the tournament. _In case Kasumi enters. This time, I will beat her and leave her crying for mercy as I slit her throat! _She said, smiling at the visual image. _That is, unless I catch her first. _

As soon as the Tengu had been brought down, the media had gone wild. Unfortunately for them, Ryu had 'disappeared' somewhere, unable to be found. The talk had died down a little, except he was nowhere to be seen. She stopped her training and sat down onto the mats, breathing hard. Ever since the second tournament, she had been pushing herself even harder. And nobody had heard anything from Kasumi. Life was good. She just wanted to see Hayabusa again, though. Thank him for what he had done. Maybe even express a little sympathy over his girlfriend, depending what sort of a mood she was in. She walked outside, and stopped suddenly. _I'm physic, _she thought, stunned. Hayate and Hayabusa were sitting under a tree, talking quietly amongst themselves. She walked over, and they both stopped talking. She turned to Ryu first.

"I thought you had disappeared. You should probably clear out before one of the students mobs you for your autograph," she said, smiling. She was happy to see him again, and not just because of what he had done for her. He sighed.

"That's already happened. I swear, I've had to write my name at least ten times in the last ten minutes," 

"Too bad," she mocked, holding out her arm. "Make it an eleventh,"

She got an extremely annoyed look shot at her, and she grinned before turning to Hayate, who was grinning as well, but the grin conveniently disappeared when Ryu glanced across at him.

"So! What's happening here right now? Anything important?"

"Not really," Ryu said, glancing at Hayate. "Why?"

"Could I speak to you for a second, please, Ryu?" she asked. Hayate looked bemused, and so did Ryu for a moment, before nodding his assent. Ayane beckoned for him to follow her, and she led him into the closest empty sparring dojo before speaking, sitting down on the mats as she did so.

"Look, I have to thank you for doing what you did for me, both by beating Kasumi and helping me out after Hayate got me. Now that Kasumi is a runaway again and the tournament is over, that means that I can go out and… exert my revenge on her. It was a real big help… thanks," Ayane was feeling slightly embarrassed in spite of herself. Ryu dropped his gaze, and to her amusement she saw a slight flush on his pale skin.

"It was the least I could do for you. Besides, I had to defeat her anyway, to keep my promise to Hayate. It just so happened that my having to do so benefited more then just Hayate, Kasumi in the long run and my own life," he said matter-of-factly. 

"Promise you won't go again without telling someone where you have gone," she said suddenly. Ryu looked taken aback, before he nodded mutely. She raised her eyebrow at him and he sighed softly. "I promise you, Ayane," he said tonelessly. She smiled slightly before casually changing the subject to what they had been talking about beforehand.

"About Kasumi, I think I will let her go for a while, let her run. You spoke to Hayate, I assume?" she asked.

"He told me that he will have to send out assassins after her because she is now officially a runaway. I know little else about it, really," Ryu said softly. "I have to go back to my own clan soon, to make sure that everything is running smoothly,"

"You know, you're not as stupid as you look," Ayane said, brushing some hair away from her mouth. There was a muffled sound of laughter from the door. Both Ayane and Ryu turned around to see Hayate who was grinning in a friendly manner.

"Just kiss and make up, guys. You know you want to,"

Hayabusa flushed, but that was nothing compared to Ayane. She turned scarlet, before chasing Hayate away from the door furiously. 

"I told you!" Ryu heard Hayate exclaim from wherever he was avoiding Ayane's wrath. 

"Two words for you, Hayate, but one of them is censored out for the little kids," Ayane muttered under her breath. Ryu tried not to smile. This was really quite amusing.

After everything had settled down, she sat back on the mats uncomfortably, and stole a glance at Ryu. _Smart, _she thought. _He's not laughing. _

She pondered what Hayate had just said. Were her 'feelings' that obvious? So much for being the cool, emotionless killer which she tried to be but just couldn't quite cut it. Cool, she could do. Emotionless, now that was a totally different story. She glanced up at Ryu, who was looking slightly perturbed by the silence. _Now, there's a first, _she thought. 

"Stuff him. Seriously, it was a big help. And thank-you again for looking after me when Hayate decided to bash me up," she added. He bowed his head, and she wondered briefly what he was doing before she realized that he was simply doing a formalized nod. 

"As I said before, it was the least I could do. And it wasn't as though I could have just left you there, unconscious. Kasumi would have had a field day, had she noticed,"

"You didn't _have _to," she insisted. "So why did you?"

"I told you that evening, a few weeks ago," he said, his voice dropping so low in volume that she had to strain her ears to hear him. "And you said it yourself. I'm supposed to help the same people that I run away from. I suppose you could say that I'm cowardly in that respect. So I didn't run. I stayed to fulfill my destiny," his voice trailed off. "That wasn't the only reason," he said, looking away from her. 

"Continue," she said, crossing her arms.

"He's scared of the dark and thought you would be too," Hayate said sarcastically, stepping into the dojo. He was shot two extremely dirty looks and held up his hands in self-defense. "It's okay, you two. I was only joking. No need to get so uptight," 

"I've already let one person die because I didn't help them when I could," Ryu said, looking at his hands. "I didn't want to make the same mistake. I refuse to make the same mistake again,"

"As if I would have died," Ayane scoffed. "Stop being so paranoid,"

He looked up suddenly. "Kasumi could have got rid of her competition. The only way that anybody knew that she is a runaway before she didn't return to your clan after the tournament is your word. She could have easily disposed of you that night, and claimed it was an accident. Then she would have been welcomed into the clan again,"

"She ran when Hayate went. People noticed that she wasn't there," Ayane retorted. Ryu shrugged absently. 

"That means nothing. I'm often absent from my clan months at a time, yet I'm not a runaway. You were the only person that heard her say 'I'm coming, Hayate, no matter the costs,' and watched her pack her things and go," he said.

"Think back," Hayate urged. "You _were_ the only one that saw her go,"

Ayane nodded. They were right. She had watched in stunned amazement the night that Hayate had left, as his seemingly brainless, stupid, good-for-nothing sister had packed her bags and had declared herself to finding Hayate, at exactly midnight when everybody else was asleep. She had been awoken by the commotion. Nobody else saw the next kunoichi in line for the position of clan leader run from the clan that had brought her up.

__

"I'll find him, no matter what it takes. I'm coming, Hayate, no matter the costs!" she had exclaimed. Ayane looked at her, scorn filling her eyes, masking the pain she felt for her now most likely deceased half brother.

"He's probably dead yet you still search for him. Doing so will make you a runaway, and that means that your beloved probably dead brother, if he inherits the position of clan leader will have to send assassins after you! You'll be a runaway as well as a twit!" Ayane retorted.

"I don't care!" the orange-haired kunoichi had cried before running out the door with her bags.

"I never thought of that," she said as humbly as she could manage, although secretly she felt rather good that she had influenced the entire clan to kill Kasumi after what she, Ayane had been the only one to see. "I guess you're right. But as if she'd have the guts to do that, anyway, kill me," she added as an afterthought.

Hayate looked grim. "She has more guts then you give her credit for, Ayane. But we'll see just how much guts she has when I send the assassins after her,"

"You're still going to do it, even though she is your sister?" Ryu asked, turning towards Hayate questioningly. He nodded.

"It's my duty as clan leader to assassinate the runaways. It doesn't matter who they are related to or who they are to me. I cannot neglect my duty just because she is my sister," Suddenly, Hayate had adopted the rule-abiding half of himself which Ayane was simply not used to. No, she preferred the fun, good natured side. She stole a glance at Hayabusa. He was staring out the window again. _Almost like what happened all those years ago, to some extent, _she thought. _But Hayate's here, thank God. And I can see what Hayate meant about Ryu. Sort-of. Sometimes._

"Don't look as though you're interested or anything," she said out aloud, making him start and look at her. He looked into her eyes for a few moments until she shifted uncomfortably. "Quit it already," she snapped, causing him to drop his gaze to the floor.

"I was just thinking about… things," he said softly. Hayate shot a glance at him.

"Starts with 'I', ends with 'E', with an 'R, E, and N' in the middle?" he asked him tactlessly. Ryu looked up at him, and for once Ayane could read his expression. It was an 'I want to sink into the ground _right_ now' sort of expression.

"Yes," he said instead. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Hayate told me about Irene a few weeks ago, when you vanished, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about it, for what it's worth," Ayane said hesitantly. He looked at her and nodded politely to her. "Thank-you," he said simply. A thought suddenly hit her.

"When I went into your room and you made me tea. You were thinking about her, weren't you? That's why you were acting all… weird," she said, surmising the incident as best as she could think of. He nodded again.

"You went to his _room_?" Hayate asked, stunned. Ayane glanced sideways at him.

"Jealous?"

"What _have_ you two been doing during the tournament?" Hayate said, sighing, as Ayane shot him a glare.


	25. Irene

It had happened again. He had been staying with the Mugen-Tenshin clan for a few days, regardless of the gossip spread, and the nightmares of Irene had come back in full force. _So here I am again_, he thought bitterly. _On top of the roof. Why don't I just go back to my own clan? They probably won't be too impressed about me helping a runaway shinobi, but it's not like they can do anything to me because of it. At least there, I have no chance of being assassinated, I don't think…_

_I wonder if Ayane is having a peaceful night now that she has been reunited with Hayate again, _he thought suddenly. He hoped so. For some reason, the lavender-haired kunoichi had found a place in those people he could trust to some extent, and he cared for her. Did he… love… her? 

_What about Irene? What would she say? How could I even think of Ayane like that?_

A chill swept through him, even though it was a fairly mild night. Not for any reason in particular that he could think of. He sighed. He had fulfilled his destiny. So now what? What else was there for him to do? Perhaps Kasumi had been right, maybe he did need a goal so much that he _had resorted to being Hayate's little obedient puppet. The thought concerned him._

He heart footsteps, and realized that he wasn't alone. Hayate was walking towards him. He couldn't read the expression in his eyes, but his facial expression was clearly confusion and concern, to some extent. He turned back away from his friend, to avoid the glances.

"To think…" Ryu started, not bothering to turn around again. "…that the last time I did this I was thinking about you and where you were, except you really weren't that far away. It just seems almost ironical,"

"Did what? Sit on the roof?" Hayate asked. Ryu nodded mutely. "Why are you sitting out here, just out of curiosity, anyway?" he asked, sitting down next to his friend. Ryu muttered something incoherent and stood up to leave, but Hayate grabbed his arm. 

"Hang on a second, Ryu. What's up?"

The ninja shook his head and pulled his arm away from Hayate's grip. Hayate frowned, before grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him down again. Ryu started, before glaring at Hayate with a severe intensity which Hayate decided to ignore.

"Nothing has changed, Ryu. I'm back and everything's just the same," he protested lightly.

"Don't fool yourself, Hayate," 

The cold words started the slightly younger ninja. How was it not? Sure, Kasumi had left, but other then that, everything was okay, wasn't it? Well, nearly everything… but even still, why did his friend have to be so touchy? If it was Kasumi or even Ayane, he could have attributed it to 'that time of the month', although with Ayane it could just as well have been her deciding to be aggravatingly cold. Ryu however… he had his moments. Oh, yeah. Lots of them.

"Stop being such a pain and tell me what's up. Sure, maybe not everything is the same, but how boring would life be if it was always the same?" Hayate asked, glancing across at his friend who seemed to be examining every inch of the tree which was located roughly in front of them. 

"It would be predictable. There's a difference," Ryu said emotionlessly without taking his gaze off the tree. Hayate suddenly twigged. _Of course. Irene. How could I forget?_

"Ryu, she's dead. I'm sorry to be the one who has to say this to you, but get over it," Hayate said bluntly. The lack of reaction proved to him that his friend had not listened to a word he had just said. He didn't bother to repeat it. He could repeat it until he was blue in the face and not get a reaction if Ryu wasn't listening. 

_He just doesn't understand. _Ryu thought bitterly. _How daunting it is not having a goal, something to do. He's clan leader now. He's going to have everything_ to do. That and the fact I don't know whether I want to talk to him. He still doesn't seem himself yet. And after beating him when he had no recollection of who he was fighting, yet to have him sitting here now demanding to know what was bothering me… I just don't like it. And even Ayane… what is it I feel for her?__

"…it," Hayate said. Ryu started again, missing most of the sentence. "What did you say?" 

"Get over Irene. She's dead. Moping will do nothing," Hayate said bluntly. Ryu flinched at the forthright tone in his friend's voice. He knew that Hayate was right, but that didn't stop him from getting angry about it.

"I'm going. I'm not putting up with this, or you," he announced flatly, standing up and checking that his sword was holstered. "Until I see you next, Hayate,"

With that, Hayate could only watch, dumbstruck, as his friend disappeared in a swirl of leaves. He reached out and grabbed one of them, examining it in the moonlight. The same bright emerald green that they always were. No different from what he remembered. 

"Ja matta ne, Ryu-sama," Hayate whispered into the night. 

*

He placed the note next to her bed, admiring the way her hair fell down over her eyes as she slept. _No use leaving without an explanation, at least to her. _He thought. _Wait a minute. Why am I doing this…? As if she cares. If not, she can give the note to Hayate. Or throw it away. I don't mind. Goodbye, Ayane._

The super ninja disappeared again, as the girl of his current thoughts sighed and rolled over, still deeply asleep.


	26. He's gone

"He's gone," Hayate said flatly. Ayane shook her head. 

"No way, Hayate. He-" she broke off abruptly, Hayate staring curiously at her. "He can't be gone. What happened?"

"We had a disagreement and he just left," Hayate said. Ayane frowned. That wasn't right. Since when did they disagree, anyway? She stood up from the table. "Where did he go?"

"I wouldn't have a clue," Hayate said, sighing. "Don't worry about it," he stood up as well, turning to go, rubbing his head as though he had a headache. "I have so much work to do, Ayane. Don't bother me for a while,"

"Since when was I bothering you?" she asked, temper flaring immediately. "I'm not a child, Hayate. Don't treat me as if I were," she glared over at her half brother. What a nerve he had! He might have treated Kasumi like that when she was younger but he had the audacity to treat _her like _Kasumi? _"Just because you've come back from God-knows where and managed to get clan leader… which I might add deserves a _big_ celebration because the only other person who would have been capable of doing it is now a runaway, but you have no right to talk down to me like that," she snapped. If it hadn't have been Hayate, she might have said something else a lot ruder, but it was Hayate. So she settled with glaring furiously at him. "No wonder everyone's running away from you. First Kasumi, now Hayabusa. Probably because you're such a _dickhead. _I wonder when you'll scare me off next,"_

Hayate looked as though she had slapped him. She squashed her feelings, and walked out of the door and back towards her own room. She didn't mean to say that last statement. Especially to Hayate, the one who had looked after her when she was younger; made sure that she got trained well, even made sure she got accepted… 

_But I'm not Kasumi. _She thought stubbornly. _And he has absolutely no right to tell me not to bother him as if I was one of the ninjas in training. Besides, he started talking to me first if you wanted to get petty about it… _

She muttered some obscenities under her breath describing Hayate for a few minutes until she opened the door to her room. There was a piece of paper on her bedside table which she hadn't noticed when she had gotten up earlier. She sat down on her bed, and unfolded the piece of paper. She didn't recognize the handwriting, which was small, neat script, unlike Hayate's sloppy scrawl, or Kasumi's large, somewhat childish hand. 

_Dear Ayane, _

_I promised you that I would notify you of my departure, so consider this so. I am sure that I have overstayed my welcome with Hayate, besides; to be brutally honest I don't really know how to talk to him any more. It's almost as if he is a different person._ _You can do with this note what you wish. Show it to Hayate or throw it away and disregard it if you would prefer. I have gone back to my clan, most likely to face the wrath of them for helping a runaway shinobi. Good luck and I will see you again sometime. _

There was no signature, but none was needed. She grabbed the note, considered ripping it up in annoyance, disregarded the idea, and marched straight to Hayate, thrusting the note into his face. "Sorry to _bother you," she snapped, "but this is a little note from your best friend. Maybe you ought to read it. After all, it has your name in it. Maybe you could consider it publicity,"_

Hayate ignored her statements, and took the letter calmly from her hands. His expression grew cool and unreadable as he read through the letter. After reading it, he handed it back to her.

"I thought he might," he said. "The coward that he is," he rolled his eyes up to the roof before continuing with what he was doing.

"What?" Ayane asked incredulously. "What are you on about?" 

He looked up at her, as though surprised that she needed to ask the question.

"Firstly, he's annoyed that I am more powerful then he is," Hayate said softly. "Secondly, he doesn't want to stay here any longer because I'm the clan leader now. Another reason would be because he doesn't want to know if there is a punishment for him helping Kasumi so he's gone so he won't have to find out,"

"You're a fool, Hayate!" Ayane exclaimed. "An absolute idiot! Just because you're top shit here doesn't mean anything. He wouldn't care whether you're clan leader or not. And secondly, _dickhead,_ you were the one who told him to protect Kasumi! So it's your fault if the rules of the clan make you punish him! Use your brain,"

"I told him to protect Kasumi, not a runaway shinobi who has brought dishonor to the Mugen-Tenshin clan," Hayate said. Again, the rules and regulations-abiding Hayate was shining through, and she didn't like it one bit. "He may be my friend, but he has to respect the rules of the ninja,"

"Yeah, whatever. You're just letting your position go to your fat head," she hissed, before walking out of the door.

"Where are you going?" Hayate demanded angrily. "Surely you're not planning on running away anywhere?" Ayane stopped, but didn't turn around.

"I'm not that stupid, unlike some people. Mr. Oh-I'm-going-away-someone-has-to-look-after-Kasumi-while-I'm gone. I'm going to be back either tonight or tomorrow. And as to where I'm going…" she turned around and shot him a disdainful glare. "…that is none of your business,"

"Oh, by the way, Genra's gone missing," Hayate's voice made her start, the words themselves more so. "Nobody's heard anything from him for a while. I only just found out then,"

"And why didn't anybody tell me? He's my father," she said indignantly. 

"Father figure. And that was only because your father wouldn't keep you after our mother-"

"Don't you dare, Hayate," Ayane's voice was quiet, but also dangerous. "If you complete that sentence, you may live to sorely regret it. But I'm not promising anything. You might die before I'm finished with you,"

"You know I'm right," Hayate said softly. Ayane glared at him as angrily as she could muster, which, considering the sensitivity of the topic, was a lot.

"I have three words for you, my darling half-brother. Go to hell. Just stay away from me as you do it. Don't come near me,"

With mixed feelings, the kunoichi walked away from her first love and away from her clan to look for somebody else's. 


	27. Number Twelve

He had received mix reactions when he had arrived back. About half of the clan, some his distant relatives, actually, had greeted him warmly. Others had shot him a 'You've done it now' look. Ryu sighed. He knew that they were right. But as the only true descendant of his father, one of the most prestigious ninjas ever to adopt the Hayabusa clan's name, what were they going to do? If he died, their line would be finished. Even the ones who hated him realized that. Most of those were ones who had despised him since childhood, or the ninjas older then him who would never adopt the clan's name. He was one of the highest ranked in the clan, apart from the Elder. It was rather daunting, really.

He had heard word that there was another tournament fairly soon, something to do with the DOATEC. _Great, _he thought. _I wonder what they've done this time. Probably something to do with that article I read a few weeks ago._

He was lying down rather inelegantly on the tatami mats in his room now, staring up at the ceiling. He was back, the place he called home, to some extent. Yet he didn't feel reassured, in fact far from it. Even here he could hear the noises of people laughing, the voices of the teachers as they trained the students. He suddenly longed to get away from it all, go up to the mountains and spend some time there by himself, but he knew that the Elder would get suspicious if he left again so soon. 

It gave him time to think, the most privacy that he was going to get, anyway. For some reason, Ayane kept on drifting into his thoughts. What was it about her? He sighed. _I feel for her. That's the problem. It could get me killed. Irene, that was weak enough, but an assassin? I might as well sign my own death warrant. What a fool I am._

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door, breaking his train of thought.

"What?" he muttered, and then realizing that he wouldn't be heard, raised his voice. "Yes?" he asked slightly louder.

"Ryu-sama, may I come in for a moment?" asked a small voice from the other side of the door. He didn't recognize it; it was probably one of the students or something. He gave his assent, and a small dark haired girl stepped in uncertainly.

"Sayuri-chan?" he asked, surprised. "Is something wrong?"

"Far from it, as far as I know. I'm sorry to disturb you, Ryu-sama, except there is somebody here to see you. The Elder does not recognize her and so has forbidden her to enter until you give your assent, because she says she knows you," Sayuri blinked, amber eyes not unlike Kasumi's looking innocently at him. 

"Who would that be?" he asked, bemused by the notion. "I'll be there in a minute. Thank-you for bringing the message," Sayuri bowed before exiting. It was only after she had gone when he grabbed his sword in its holster and put it on.

He padded softly barefooted down to the outside area where this mysterious person would no doubt be waiting. He started as he realized who it was. 

_Why is Ayane here? Is something wrong? _His footsteps on the stone path alerted her to his presence and she turned around.

*

She had never seen Ryu dress so informally. He was in a lot tighter then usual black shirt and black baggy pants, completing the somewhat monochromatic ensemble with black fighting gloves. He had his hair flowing down over his shoulders, something she had never seen before. His expression was one of mild concern as he looked at her.

"Ayane, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously. She shook her head.

"Hayate's being an ass. As per usual. I suppose I shouldn't have let it bother me so much," she said, sighing. "I don't know what's gotten into him. This whole clan leader thing has made his head swell to twice the size, and you know that Hayate and the word 'ego' are not unacquainted," she added bitterly.

"So you came here because of that?" she noticed the surprise he was not able to completely mask from his voice. She shrugged. 

"Nice of you to leave me a note this time,"

"What did Hayate do?" Ryu asked. She hesitated. How did he know already? Had Hayate told him what he had said to her? The words still stung, the malice which he had used, and even him mentioning it in the first place. It was her problem, not his. He had no right to use what wasn't even her fault against her. For the first time ever, when she thought of Hayate abhorrence filled her. _He knew all the time, of course. He was just waiting, biding his time until he could use those words to full effect._

"It's none of your business!" she exclaimed angrily. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Why did you come to see me if you want me to leave you alone?" Ryu asked; his tone straightforward as usual. She mentally chastised herself, he had her there.

"Look, can you go back and speak to Hayate? I know you probably don't want to, but he's assuming all sorts of radical things and maybe you could talk some sense into him. He's automatically assumed that because you left it was because he was stronger then you or some crap like that," she said. She would tell him about what he had said about Genra later. He looked surprised. "Did he really say that?" he asked.

"As I said before. His head's swelling faster then a swollen ankle," she muttered. 

"Hang on a minute," he said, before walking to the door. "Sayuri-chan?" he asked as the little girl poked her head around the door. She had dark brown, almost black hair, but amber-like eyes. _Like hers, Ayane thought, immediately taking a disliking to the girl. "Could you please tell the Elder that I am going to see my friend from the Mugen-Tenshin clan and I will be back shortly,"_

The little girl smiled and nodded. Ayane stared curiously at her. Her eyes were about the only similarity to that bitch Kasumi that she had. Sayuri smiled almost mischievously. Ryu nodded with a slight upturning of the lips, and she bowed to him before shutting the door. 

*

The trip back to the Mugen-Tenshin clan was somewhat quiet. Ryu noticed with amusement that he had forgotten to change before leaving his clan, but at least he was still armed. Finally, Ayane decided to break the silence. "That girl…"

"Sayuri," Ryu interrupted. Ayane nodded. "Yes, her. Is she related to you?"

"She's my cousin's daughter," Ryu said simply. "She's a good little fighter,"

"Is that all you see in people?" Ayane asked somewhat skeptically. Ryu looked sideways at her sharply, before his eyes drifted back to the path in front of them, seemingly ignoring the question. She decided to steer the question away from it. "You just seemed… happier, because of her then I've seen you," she said awkwardly. "Look, Hayate's the problem. He mentioned that Genra has gone missing, and made some snide comments about my… illegitimacy," she said, the word not coming out smoothly. "That's why I came; I just wanted to get away from him. I can't believe him, that's all… I don't even know why I'm telling you, it's not as if you could do anything or I would let you do anything, I guess I just wanted to talk. First time for everything,"

"If you could have helped it, you probably should have tried and avoided the subject," Ryu said, brushing some hair out of his face for about the tenth time in five minutes. "Hayate has a lot to say on the subject of illegitimacy,"

"And you would know _how_?" she asked curiously.

"Long story. And we're nearly there. Not enough time," Ryu said hastily, pointing at the houses and temple in front of them. She glanced sideways at him except his expression was the same as it always was, cool and unreadable. "…So you want me to speak to Hayate and get him sorted out?" he brushed his hair out of his face for the eleventh time. Now she was beginning to realize why he didn't wear it out very often.

"Please. The only reason I'm telling you, or I came to tell you, was because it involves you more then me and I though you should know," 

There was a moment of silence as they approached the clan's area, before Ayane asked the question she had been thinking about since the third hair-brushing.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

He turned and looked at her. "No, why do you ask?"

"Because you look… different, you know; hair out and everything. I thought maybe I had caught you during a bad time,"

"No, I was just lying down on my floor pondering things, as always. Absolutely nothing for the common good," he said. She sighed. Number twelve.

"For God's sake, tie it up when we get inside," she muttered, opening the doors.


	28. To like or not to like

"Hayate-sama?" a young trainee student had knocked on his door. "There are two people here to see you; I don't know who they are,"

"Whatever," Hayate said into the work he was doing. "Let them in,"

The door opened. In came a haughty-looking Ayane, accompanied by… _gee, what's with the hair? He thought. __It's longer then Kasumi's, even! He suddenly started. Perhaps it was the oh-so familiar emerald green eyes that did it._

"Ryu! Is that you?"

"Don't sound so surprised," his friend said coolly. 

Hayate took a moment to recover. It didn't look anything like his friend at all! He didn't remember seeing him with his hair out when they were children and… _oh, my god. I never realized that it was so long. Is it real, I wonder? … oh, Ryu… don't do that to me!_

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, Ryu!" he exclaimed.

"Shame he didn't," Ayane retorted bitterly.

The silence became thick enough to walk on. Hayate stole a glance at his half-sister who was pointedly not looking in his direction. Ryu's expression was as it always was, showing nothing, simply an emotionless, cool mask. Hayate was beginning to feel uncomfortable, and annoyed. _Obviously she ran straight to tell him what I had said to her, he thought. _Well, there's no point pretending.__

"Ayane, can you go away for a minute?" Hayate asked pointedly, not bothering with any politeness. "I want to speak with Ryu for a moment,"

She did, but not before shooting him an icy cold glare. Hayate gestured to a seat, and Ryu took it. There was silence for a few minutes before Hayate broke it.

"Ayane told you everything, I assume,"

Ryu shrugged.

"I don't know what 'everything' was, so I couldn't really answer to that,"

"Don't be an ass," Hayate snapped. "She told you what I said, and you've come back because you don't believe it, right?" 

"Believe what you wish," he said simply. "I don't, but I'm not disputing the issue. Not unless I have to. Did Ayane show you the note I left her?"

"You could have told me where you were going," Hayate said indignantly. "You tell my half-sister yet you don't tell me, and I'm your best friend. Of course I'm going to assume that something's going on between you two," 

"I wouldn't want anything going on," Ryu said softly. "I believe that I've spoken to her more in this last month then I have as a child or teenager previously, and I think that I'm beginning to understand her more then I ever would have before. But I've already failed one woman. I don't need another hanging over my head,"

"That's what your head says," Hayate responded, his anger dissipating into nothing the moment he looked at his friend. "But I bet that thing that pumps your blood everywhere is saying something else," he added, with a pointed look.

"It's there somewhere," the super ninja said simply, dismissing the subject. "Back onto what I came here for. I assume that you want to punish me for helping a runaway shinobi," 

Hayate started. "Don't tell me Ayane told you about my saying that,"

"Did you?" Ryu asked. "No, she didn't. I automatically assumed it. But to me, I was fulfilling my promise to you to protect Kasumi, not the runaway shinobi. She ran away for you, Hayate. The least I could do was protect her, even if that meant getting her out of the tournament," He sighed softly, and Hayate suddenly felt slightly guilty for seemingly putting such a burden onto his friend. "So are you going to punish me, or shall I go back?"

"No… I won't. Are you heading off back to your clan, or somewhere else?" Hayate asked.

"I have to go back there for a while, the Elder is becoming slightly suspicious, and I dare not arouse his suspicions after helping a runaway. No, I will go there for a while, before I go back and reopen the shop, I suppose. There's nothing else to do, really,"

Hayate looked his friend up and down, wondering briefly if he was being serious. _He must have come here straight away, _he thought. _He's not even wearing shoes. _He decided to change the subject. "What's with the clothes?"

"Must everyone question that?" Ryu sounded bemused and vaguely annoyed. "Simply there was no need for me to dress formally, so I didn't,"

"Whatever," Hayate said, brushing the comment away. "I want to ask you a personal question," he said instead. Now was time to find the truth about what was going on between his best friend and half sister.

"What?" His friend suddenly looked very wary. 

"What exactly is going on between you and Ayane? You've suddenly grown very close, I have to admit. Usually she wouldn't get within walking distance of most guys, and she hasn't made one cutting comment about you. That means that something's up," Hayate said.

"Nothing is 'going on', Hayate," Ryu said, but Hayate noticed that his friend wasn't making eye contact, something extremely rare for him to do. "I have helped her during the course of the last few weeks, that is all. You need not suspect anything simply because of that,"

"You know you like her. It's obvious in the way you're acting," Hayate said flatly. It was true, at least to him, anyway.

"What do you want me to say?" Ryu was flushing slightly. Hayate raised his eyebrows. "She's most unlike I was expecting, and you know as well as I that she isn't an unattractive girl, but… she's your sister, and an assassin as well,"

"So?" Hayate scoffed. "Big deal,"

"I… I don't want to talk about it," Ryu said softly, dropping his gaze to his lap before shutting his eyes.


	29. A confessed love

He was floating in a pool of confusion, or so it felt like. It was swirling around him, threatening to smother him in its… completeness. He had finally realized that yes, he did feel for Ayane, but that didn't mean that he had to _admit it. And what would Irene say? For crying out loud, she had only been dead for a few months, and yet he had become attracted to another? A pang of guilt hit him. How could he?_

"Irene…" he murmured, half to himself. "I'm sorry,"

"So I am right!" Hayate exclaimed which caused Ryu to open his eyes and look up, surprised. His friend was grinning. "You do! I'm so smart," he said offhandedly. 

"What makes you say that?" he asked carefully, not wanting to drop any unwanted messages. Hayate shook his head. 

"Why else would you have just apologized to Irene if there was nothing to apologize for?" he asked.

_Good point. I should really learn to keep my mouth shut._

Suddenly, there was a brisk knock on the door, and in came Ayane herself, still looking rather annoyed at Hayate. "Can I come in, or haven't you finished your 'guy talk' yet?" she mocked. Hayate glanced at Ryu, before raising an eyebrow. 

"Come in, Ayane. The guy talk's just starting, but you're more then welcome,"

Ryu shot Hayate a death-glare which he conveniently ignored, as Ayane sat in one of the chairs. 

She looked across at him. 

"So. Have you two sorted it out, yet?"

"Umm," Ryu managed to get out. _Great! _He thought bitterly. _This is just great. I can't even speak properly. Hayate will jump to conclusions so quickly that I'll get whiplash from the speed that he's going. _He remained silent for several minutes, all the while trying to get his words out in a sentence comprehensible for the average person. "Yes, I think so," he said finally.

"Are you all right?" Ayane asked, looking across at him somewhat suspiciously. 

"Umm," he repeated, before mentally chastising himself. _I can't think straight! It must be all that talk that Hayate and I were having before. It's done something to me. "No… yes!" he said suddenly. _My god. What's wrong with me today?_ _

"Oh my god," Hayate managed to say. Ryu looked over at him and saw his friend trying and not overly succeeding to contain his laughter. "Oh my god,"

_I was fine earlier. _Ryu couldn't contain the little flame of indignation which had ignited with his friend's laughing. "…I'm glad that I'm so amusing, Hayate," he said. 

"Me too," Hayate choked out. 

"Okay, what's going on?" Ayane asked. "Ryu, you're acting like you're drunk, and Hayate, you're acting like a girl. What's your problem, both of you?"

Hayate managed to regain his control. Ryu sighed, twisting a strand of hair around his finger. Darn Hayate. _Trust him to make me feel like an absolute idiot, _he thought bitterly. "Look, I'm sorry, both of you. I'm not with it today,"

"I know what you are with…" Hayate started before Ryu held up a hand, standing up. 

"Don't you dare, Hayate," he said softly. "Don't you dare,"

*

Ayane watched as Ryu left the room. What had gotten into him? He was acting weird. Couldn't even string a sentence together properly. He was fine earlier. Maybe… it couldn't have been. Getting tongue-tied in front of Hayate, perhaps? She dismissed the thought almost immediately. _No way. He doesn't look the type, and besides, what person in their right mind would go gaga over Hayate? _

"Please explain," she said, looking at Hayate, who grinned.

"He… I don't know whether I'll be in one piece after telling you this, sis," he started. "I guess we should cut to the chase. He's got a crush on you,"

"Yeah, very funny," she scoffed. "That is so… juvenile. Trust you to come up with some cock and bull story about that, Hayate,"

"It's true," Hayate looked slightly indignant. "I managed to squeeze the information out of him, and I don't think he meant to say what he did. I just deduced the facts, because I'm overly smart and wonderful…"

"A little bit of modesty works wonders," she muttered under her breath. She thought about the facts. That could explain him helping her so much, but he never showed any type of affection or anything towards her. But she couldn't see him doing that anyway. What surprised her the most is that when she thought about him liking her, she didn't feel resentment or anything of the sort towards him. In fact, she distantly didn't mind the idea, which scared her. She shrugged, before standing up. "I'll leave you to it. I want to talk to him,"

"Invite me to your wedding," Hayate said. Ayane shot him a glare before walking out, making sure to slam the door after her.

*

He had been pacing the footpath rapidly, ignoring the stones digging into his feet. What was wrong with him today? This was how he had acted on the first date that he and Irene had gone on. Totally out of it. Couldn't get a sentence out without stuttering or a number of 'Umm's in it. He decided that he was tired. Surely he needed some excuse.

The door opened, and Ayane came out, slamming the door behind her. She came straight up to him with a 'Don't-lie-to-me-because-I-know-the-full-story' look on her face. He sighed, and sat under the closest tree, her following suit.

"True? Affirmative or negative," she said briskly. Trust her to cut straight to the chase. He dropped his gaze to the ground. _Those little flowers coming out of the dirt are nice, he mused, totally forgetting what the question was._

"Hello? Earth to Ryu," she said sarcastically. "What's going on?"

"Oh, …umm… sorry…" he replied hesitantly. "I wasn't listening…"

"And it was so obvious," she said, rolling her eyes. He was beginning to get a headache. What was it with women? "So? What's going on? Is what Hayate said true or bullshit? Knowing him, either is quite plausible,"

"What did he say?" he asked, trying to bide time, but one look from Ayane told him that that was out of the question. "Umm… no," he said. "Hayate was just jumping to conclusions,"

"Oh," she said. He looked at her, surprised. It might have just been him, but she sounded distantly disappointed. 

*

She didn't know why she hadn't been expecting that response. _Hello, he's a ninja, Ayane, she told herself. _They're supposed to be all cold and emotionless. Ha… emotionless my ass. __

"That's good," she said finally. "At least Hayate can focus on his job as opposed to our imaginary love-life," 

"Ayane…" Ryu said suddenly. She looked at him, and he was looking down at the ground as if it was about to swallow him up. Then he suddenly looked at her, those glaring green eyes boring into her. "I… think that I do… like you…" he said softly, so softly she wasn't sure whether he did actually say it or she had just imagined it. "But… look, I'm sorry. This is ridiculous, and nothing will come from it," He stood up. "I have to go. Everything's sorted out with Hayate, and I have to get back to my clan otherwise everybody will get suspicious, especially after what happened before. I'm sorry,"

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked bemusedly. "I might be a bitch, but I really don't mind about-"

"Just forget it," he said. "Farewell,"

And with that, the super ninja vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving a stunned Ayane behind. 

Ooh, a confessed love… but a returned love? Now that is the question. Sorry for the length of time between updates, but you'd never believe it… three days after I got my computer back, the hard-drive failed. You can guess who was a really happy chappy after that, can't you? :)


	30. Meow

Now the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. The super ninja amused himself for a brief moment thinking about a giant tiger crawling out of a string bag before he pulled himself together and gathered his sanity.

_So you've told her now. And you can't take it back. Now Hayate will find out how disloyal you are to Irene's memory. Some husband you are. Were._

Ryu sighed. Times must have been bad if his sub-consciousness could win him down so easily. He walked down to his room, where it was as he had left it before. He lay down on the futon and shut his eyes. He wished that he hadn't told her. He wished that Irene were still here. Hell, he had wished so many things during his lifetime. And none of them had ever come true.

How embarrassing. His clan would have a fit if they found out. Cross-clans were bad enough for friendship stakes, but… love…? He was well and truly screwed. 

Or did he even love her? Maybe it was just that he cared for her, as he did for Hayate, as he did even for Kasumi in some twisted way, although he didn't actually always _like _the girl, he cared for her and didn't want to see her hurt. Maybe he was getting confused between the two?

"I don't stutter," he murmured into his pillow. "This is really bad,"

There was a knock on the door. He simply shoved his head further into the pillow, hoping that the knocking would cease. It didn't. In fact, it grew even more aggravating.

"Ryu, open up. I need to speak to you,"

Great. It was the Elder, sounding rather impatient. _Maybe I could just pretend that I'm not here, he thought to himself. Soon enough, the Elder simply opened the door, and eyed him suspiciously. Ryu glanced up for a second and muttered a greeting before shoving his head into the pillow again._

"Is something wrong, Ryu?" the Elder asked kindly. Ryu was quietly surprised. _He hasn't lectured me on helping runaways yet. Maybe it won't happen. _He drifted back into reality. _I wish. It simply hasn't happened yet. _

"I'm not here," he muttered incoherently into his pillow. 

"Ryu, get up and stop being so immature," the Elder said patiently. Ryu sighed deeply before looking up into the Elder's dark brown eyes.

"I know that I shouldn't have. I made a promise to my friend, and before you ask, yes he is in the same clan as the runaway. I know that I've broken about a hundred rules in the process, so you might as well punish me now. I'm not denying anything,"

"I didn't even have to press you," the Elder said amusedly. "Truth be told, I wasn't even wanting to see you about that," 

_Damn. I hate it when that happens, _Ryu thought to himself bitterly. 

"What else have I done?" he asked bemusedly. The Elder looked at him before laughing. Personally, he didn't see what was so amusing. _What is this, laugh at me day? I can't help it if I'm out of it. "No, I'm being serious, with all respect intended. If you aren't here to see me about Kas- the runaway, then what else have I done that is serious enough for you to seek me out yourself?" he asked. _

"You're just like your father," the Elder said, still chuckling. Ryu looked up, surprised. That certainly wasn't what he had expected. "Both of you very bright, but had and have a tendency to get into more trouble then you wanted to originally. Both excel in fighting, and if you wanted to get even more detailed, both saved the world,"

"Umm," Ryu said hesitantly. He had never known that his father had done that. _I really wish that I hadn't, sometimes, _he thought bitterly. _Then it wouldn't keep on getting mentioned all the time._

"But both rather crave… solitude, rather then socializing, although your father was quite outgoing when he wanted to be. I remember that it drove your mother absolutely crazy," the Elder continued. "You got most of your father's features, but you have got your mother's eyes,"

He didn't like the direction that this conversation was going. _I never knew Mother. And Father never had the time to tell me any of this. Yet I'm not sure whether I want to hear any more._

"Ken would be proud of you, Ryu," the Elder said finally. Ryu looked up at him, before shaking his head sadly.

"No he wouldn't. All the mistakes that I've made ever since he died more then outweigh anything of purpose that I have ever done," he said softly, thinking of Irene. "He would be ashamed that he raised such an abomination of a child,"

With that, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, the confused thoughts and memories bothering him more then ever before.

*

"Now what should I do?" she said half to herself. Hayate came out and looked interestedly at her.

"Where'd Ryu go? Did you… scare him off?" he asked. She shot him a glare before realizing that she may have done just that. It would explain where he had gone, she supposed, which was away from her.

"I didn't do anything overly bitchy," she said indignantly. 

"Now there's a first," Hayate muttered bitterly.

Resisting the temptation to belt him across the head, she simply tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You're just jealous," she said finally. Truth be told, she was extremely confused. Did she like him back? Was he just saying that to stir her? It was working, if he had. Had she said something wrong and so that was why he had gone? _Bloody men, _she thought irritably. _They need to come with instruction manuals or something._

"Me?" Hayate spluttered. "Jealous of my best friend liking you? I don't think so,"

"Well, who knows?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You two would make a nice couple," she added sarcastically.

"Ayane, that is disgusting," Hayate stated bluntly.

"It's the thought that counts," she said, smiling sweetly. "And it looks like your mind went straight to the gutter when I said that, didn't it?"

He remained silent. She smirked. She had got him there. One point to her. 

"I have an idea," he announced suddenly. "He's not here, right? I bet you want him to be to find out more, and I want him here to find out more, so I'll send a messenger to say that the leader of the Mugen-Tenshin clan summons him on important business," 

He shrugged under Ayane's skeptical glance.

"So, what? It is important,"

"Whatever, if you think it'll work," she said, feigning disinterest. 

*

He looked up sharply as a shadow fell over him. There was a little boy, about ten years old, with amber colored eyes and locks. He stood nervously, fidgeting as he related the message.

"…the leader of the Mugen-Tenshin clan wishes to see you on important business, Ryu-sama," the boy said hesitantly. He nodded to the boy, who ran off as fast as his legs would take him. 

_Why does he want me again so soon? _He thought bemusedly. _And what important matters are there to see me about?_

He shrugged as he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Maybe Ayane is interested… or maybe she just is letting Hayate get Ryu because she wants to see Ryu make a fool of himself. You never know! We're getting to the cute, fluffy bit of the story, so the characters will probably be getting OOCer from here, but it's been fun to write, nonetheless. Hope you enjoy!


	31. Revenge crazed

We're nearly finished! I don't know about you, but I am sad to see this nearly finished, but at the same time happy because of the current percentage I have of finishing stories… it isn't very high. Gouki, sorry, but I wrote this story a while ago and can't really change it now… maybe I'll write an alternative ending with a bit more originality ^^; 

They both pounced on him immediately the minute he stepped foot into the courtyard.

"Where'd you go?" Ayane asked. "You idiot," she muttered under her breath.

"What's going on?" Hayate demanded. Ryu held up his hands in protest. 

"You wanted to speak to me about important business, didn't you? How is anything like this important?"

Those were exactly the wrong words to say. Ayane grew still, and Hayate looked down at his friend in surprise.

"You tell a girl you love her then say it isn't important? You don't do that, Ryu,"

"What would you know about love?" Ryu retorted. "The only people who have ever loved you are either dead or you've thrown their love back in their faces," he snapped, thinking of the orange-haired kunoichi who had been banished from her clan by the person who he she had run away to find and avenge.

The courtyard fell silent. Even the birds stopped chirping. Ryu felt a sudden pang of guilt at what he had said but this soon disappeared with the anger that Hayate expressed and vented at him.

"You wouldn't know much more then I would, after letting your girlfriend die, I would say that I know more then you. And she was probably the only person that even gave a damn about you in the first place," 

The words hit Ryu like blows raining down on him. He flinched before opening his mouth to make an even more cutting comment, but before he could, he was interrupted. 

"Cut it out!" Ayane exclaimed, her voice audible in the silence. "Shut your holes, both of you!"

Ryu was sorely tempted to turn on her, but he didn't. He was still furious, and yes, upset by the comment that Hayate had made. Even though he had been the one to open his mouth first. 

"Ryu," Ayane said softly, with more sincerity then he had ever heard from her before. "Stop it. Why are you acting like this?" There was an undercurrent in her tone which he noted but didn't understand what it was.

"…Why?" he asked obstinately. Hayate had his arms folded, the picture of stubbornness. Ryu carefully avoided looking at him again. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, not really," Ayane said. "Your expression is exactly the same as it always is,"

Oh. Well, who really cared? He wasn't here to get his expression judged by the world to see how much emotion it expressed, or some rubbish like that. He had told her as close to how he felt that he could, and she had told Hayate, which had made the whole incident into a much bigger mess then it could have been. _Emotions do make you weak. I was right all the time. I should just stick to the personality required for my day job. _He thought to himself bitterly.

"What about Irene?" Hayate asked the question he had been waiting for, for so long, still with a note of anger in his voice. But at least now, now… he finally had an answer to it.

"Irene… is dead. I will never forget her because she was my first love. But she wouldn't want me to mourn her and not get on with my own life. She would want me to live my life for the both of us, and enjoy it. So I am going to try and do that as much as I possibly can," he said softly. 

"So does getting on with your life mean dating Ayane?" Hayate asked, his bad mood disappearing instantly. Ayane tried to avoid eye contact with either of them while Ryu flushed slightly. 

"If she is willing," he said finally. No use in denying the feelings the whole world seemed to know. She looked up at him in surprise. Obviously she hadn't been expecting him to say that.

"You know, for a stuck-up, cliché, emotionless little ninja, you're not bad," she muttered. 

Ryu was going to retort 'For a bitchy, menstrual, revenge-crazy kunoichi you aren't either' but thought that it might have a bad effect. Not to mention Hayate would have a field day. He decided to keep his mouth shut on that question, responding only with a simple "Thanks," and thinking _how can she call me little when I'm about eight inches taller then her?_


	32. Flying high

Even after everything… I'm a girl, so let's blame it on that as to why this story is getting a little bit OOC and romantic-like. Anyway, hope you have enjoyed… it's been great and hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it! ~Em

"Okay, fine. But as long as we date, you had better be the perfect guy, otherwise you're getting the flick," Ayane said finally. "That means taking me out somewhere nice," Well, she didn't mind the guy, so being stuck with him wouldn't take any skin off her nose, so to speak. And if she could score a dinner or something in the process, what was there to complain about?

He nodded, doing a small formal bow.

"Wherever you wish to go, we shall," 

Hayate laughed at her bewildered looking expression. "See, I told you before that ninjas have wonderful charm and talk nicely,"

"Talking in the right language that I could understand would be appreciated more," she muttered. 

He smiled shyly and it was only then that Ayane realized that she had never seen him smile before. It looked almost… timid, but rather cute, if he could be considered that. She resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Kasumi would be so jealous if she could see what was going on.

"That's cute. Do it again," she said. Hayate raised his eyebrows.

"In all the years I've known you, I've never heard you say the word 'cute' before. He must be addling your brain, Ayane,"

Fortunately for Hayate, he dodged the flurry of blows that came his way from Ayane. Unfortunately for Hayate, he didn't see the blows coming from behind. 

"Now look who's laughing," Ayane mocked as he struggled to get up, but with Ryu putting most of his weight on him, and Ayane helping, he found that rather difficult. "What do you have to say to this now, Mr. Mugen-Tenshin clan leader?"

"Okay, I give," Hayate laughed. Surprisingly, Ryu chimed in.

"That isn't good enough, my friend. The only thing that can save you from a fate worse then death is by making lunch," His eyes twinkled as he said this and it was clear that they had both forgotten about the could-have-been row earlier.

"Lunch?" Hayate protested. "But I don't do that!"

"You do now," Ryu said seriously. "Otherwise I will make you be my sparring partner for when I practice the Izuna-Otoshi, and I'm working on a rather painful part of it right now, perfecting the spiral drop of it,"

Hayate visibly paled.

"What do you want?" he asked hurriedly. "Sushi? Onigiri? Sashimi? Tempura? Gyoza? Just ask chef Hayate!"

Ayane grinned.

*

They had just gone on their first date, at a very nice sushi restaurant. She had to admit that the kneeling did nothing for her stockings, but it had still been a very pleasant evening. They were just finishing up when Ryu spoke. 

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," he said softly, taking a sip of his drink.

"More then I thought I would, to be honest," she replied. "This has been great. Thanks,"

"That's fine," he said politely. One thing she had noticed was how… reserved he had been through the entire evening; they had talked for hours about seemingly stupid subjects, and found out a bit more about each other. She had deduced that he was a Gemini, for a start. But he had been acting as though he was going to be marked on his presentation and manners or something. "Ten out of ten. Now will you please loosen up a bit?" she asked. The bemused look showed that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. "You're acting as though I'm marking you on presentation. So, ten out of ten. Manners, ten out of ten. Loosen up a little. You're treating me like I'm your aunt or something," she said.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I haven't done this for a while. It's a bit nerve-wracking,"

"Just as nerve-wracking as a monster gnawing on your arm, no doubt?" she asked skeptically. They had talked about their pasts a little, and Ryu's seemed to be more of the same as she knew, beating up bad guys and saving the world, among other things.

"That's not nerve-wracking. That's just painful," he said, taking another sip from his drink. "When I first realized that I liked you, I would have preferred take on the Tengu again then tell you that. _Five Tengu with me tied down," _

"I'm not that bad," she said indignantly. "Sure, I might be a bit bitchy, but isn't everyone?"

"Not as much as you can be," he said honestly. She considered hitting him but decided against it. After all, he had relaxed a bit. 

*

Ryu lay awake that night, pondering, before getting out of bed and sitting on the roof of the building. He thought that the date had gone well. She didn't bite. He was pleased with himself that he had managed to not stutter once during the entire course of the evening. He remembered his first date with Irene; he hadn't been able to get a word out.

"She isn't that bad," he said sleepily to the roof. "Not once you get to know her, at least. Even if she is female,"

_I never thought that things would have ended up this way, _he thought to himself. _Ending up dating Ayane, of all people! Funny how things change, I still remember that encounter I had with her before the tournament and if anybody had told me then that I would end up liking her, there was no way that I would have believed them…_

"Irene…" he whispered into the night. "You were right. I hope you think that I've done the right thing… because no matter what happens, I will always love you,"

And he could have sworn that he heard the wind answer back.


	33. Epilogue

Yay! PWP, OOC mushiness epilogue-iness! What more could you want? (EARMUFFS! …sorry.) Okay, I know this is a long time coming, but hope you enjoy all the same, and yes… there is a sequel in the works, among other things… *shameless plug: read Leaves of Lavender… end shameless plug* Oh well. Enjoy! ~ Em

He looked up at the sound of footsteps. _Sounds like two people… hmm, must be Ryu and Ayane, then. _Sure enough, the super ninja and the kunoichi came around the corner.

"You two have been inseparable. It's so sweet," he laughed. Truth be told, that was the only way you could tell that anything was going on at all, they spent lots of their free time together. No kissing, no nothing. Then again, it was his best friend and half sister, so what could he expect? Ryu was… not into that. Ayane was… not into that.What hope did their offspring have?

Ayane glanced across at Ryu. "Nah. Just where I've had to go, he's had to go as well. He's following me,"

Ryu shook his head. "She's following me,"

"Bull," Ayane scoffed. "See, look. I'm in front of you, therefore you're following me,"

"Okay, okay," Hayate held up a hand before the argument could get out of control. "So how was the last…" he paused theatrically. "…_date_?" 

"It was good. I didn't have to pay," Ayane flicked a stray hair from her face.

"Yeah, I did," Ryu muttered. "What with you calling the waiters big nosed bohemians. I don't think I'll be able to enter that restaurant with you again,"

"He gave me someone else's meal!" Ayane retorted. "And to make things worse, it was something disgusting, like pea and ham soup!"

Pause.

"You should lean to appreciate western food," Ryu shrugged, before turning to Hayate. 

"See the way he talks to me? I don't know why I put up with it. Probably because I get free meals," Ayane said, smiling a rare, genuine smile.

"I knew I was good for something," Ryu replied, deadpan, before he smiled too. Hayate's eyebrows went up. The two people who were the most difficult to get to smile. Perhaps there were other visible signs of what was going on.

"You know…" Hayate paused, wondering how to word this. "You've broken one of the laws of being a guy, Ryu,"

"Only one?" his friend asked, still with his deadpan tone. "Do enlighten me, then,"

"After you know a guy for more then twenty-four hours, you're not supposed to go near his sister unless you marry her," he raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"Pah. Look at the guy. I think he's broken more then one of the laws," Ayane laughed.

"Excuse me? You probably adhere to more then I do," Ryu retorted. Probably not the wisest thing to ever come from his mouth. 

Hayate stepped back delicately as an enraged Ayane tackled her 'boyfriend' if you could call it that. The word seemed too unlike them. He laughed as Ayane triumphantly pinned Ryu to the ground. "You succeeded in putting down both of you at once. Skill,"

"I know," Ryu managed to get out before he was silenced by Ayane's hand.

Another pause, as the Mugen-Tenshin clan leader watched the notorious Hajin-Mon assassin sitting on the famed super ninja. 

"You two are embarrassing," he said finally. 

Ayane suddenly got an evil glint in her eye. 

"Hey, Ryu…" she asked, still perched on him. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Might as well. I might not answer it though,"

Hayate gulped. 

"Are you ticklish?"

Silence.

"Oh well, I guess you won't mind if I…" with that, Ayane suddenly started tickling Ryu's ribs. Hayate couldn't help laughing as his friend instantly tried sitting up, pushing the young kunoichi off.

"Don't you dare,"

"I dare," she retorted, continuing. It turned out that the super ninja was quite ticklish, actually. She managed to push him to the ground and tickle-torture him. Hayate watched with an amused expression until an uncertain voice broke his reverie. 

"…Hayate-sama?" 

He turned around to a young student from the clan, who kept shooting Ayane and Ryu scared glances.

"Don't worry about them. They're just in love," Hayate responded.

"…Oh…" the kid said hesitantly. "I don't think I'll fall in love then, if I end like that…" he shot them another glance. Hayate smiled.

"Good idea. I knew we taught you something,"


End file.
